


Wingless Wonder

by Dalinda



Series: Wild Wings. [1]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: (that was a joke), Birds of Prey - freeform, Blood, Dragons, Epic Battles, Flying, Found Family, Four: humming bird, Ganon - Freeform, Hehehe, Horses, Hurt/Comfort, Hyrule: black kite, Kingdom of Hyrule, Legend: raven/crow, NPC's - Freeform, New Guardians, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Platonic Cuddling, Scars, Sky: Great Frigatebird, Swords, Taggs to be added, They sleep in a nest/pile on the ground., Time Travel, Time: bald eagle, Twilight: Rough-legged hawk, Violence, Warriors: red tailed hawk, Wild (Linked Universe) Angst, Wild (Linked Universe)-centric, Wild: (redacted), Wind: northern fulmar, Wingfic, World Travel, beta read because Im not a man and I dont wish do die., boys get wild out of his shell, but there not full guardian, cloaks, four gets addicted to honey candey, gang meets wild, guardian lyenls, its great, like it gets bad guys, lots of wing moments, my prof reader has to tone it down for me, now for the birbs:, oh! wild also sleeps in trees., read fic to know more >:3, sketch artist wild!, they have to do that multiple times, wind and wild bond over bugs, wing fic, wing umbrellas, winged people, wood carver wild!, yiga are ass holes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:34:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 24,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27151166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dalinda/pseuds/Dalinda
Summary: One minute, they were chilling on skyloft, enjoying the altitude , their swords still covered in black blood from the infected they had just defeated.Then, BOOM.The goddess decides to drop them in the middle of ANOTHER monster camp, filled with unknown creatures with weapons that can set shit on fucking fire.So no, Legend was not having a good day.(aka: the wing fic no one asked for. Also GANG MEETS WILD LETS GO)(also, I WILL be coming back to later chapters and editing, I tend to forget to proof read and I save that stuff for later)
Relationships: Four & Hyrule & Legend & Sky & Time & Twilight & Warriors & Wild & Wind (Linked Universe)
Series: Wild Wings. [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1981900
Comments: 57
Kudos: 504





	1. Beating and greetings, with a side of (the best) pony.

Legend cursed as he ducked behind another tree, a flaming arrow shooting past him, missing his wing by just a few inches.

Why, why did Hylia keep tossing them through portals like this?!

It was all so fast! One minute, they were chilling on Skyloft, enjoying the high altitude, their swords still covered in black blood from the infected monster camp they had just defeated, then BOOM. The goddess decides to drop them in the middle of ANOTHER monster camp, filled with unknown creatures with weapons that can set shit on fucking fire.

So no, Legend was not having a good day.

He swerved out from behind the tree he was hiding behind just in time for a short, uglyass pig thing to come smashing through the entire trunk, sending splintered wood flying in every direction.

Curse Hylia, curse this dense and cramped forest, curse uglyass jacked up pigs, and fucking curse this Hyrule for having a dense cramped forest with uglyass jacked up PIGS!!!

“Legend, stop complaining and dodge these things!!”

Ah, he was saying that all out loud, fuck—

“We really need to get out of this forest, we’re sitting—”

“DON'T SAY DUCKS,” Warriors shrieked, cutting off Sky. “NEVER SAY DUCKS!”

“—if we stay here!” Sky grimaced, tucking his wings close to his back as he hopped a large rock, which was immediately scorched by a fire arrow. “The faster we get into open air, the faster we can leave them in the dust!” 

“Well it would be a lot easier to leave if we actually knew where the FUCK we are, Sky!”

“Language!” Twilight shouted, who was running side by side with Warriors, looking quite annoyed. “The pirate’s right though, I don't recognise these woods!”

“Same here!” Hyrule yelped as Sky forcefully shoved his head down as a bright red arrow shot right over them.

Legend watched as the arrow buried itself into the bark of an old looking tree, and not a second later flames exploded from its insides. The heat was so intense Legend had to make a sharp right to avoid getting burned, almost colliding face first with Four.

That's when the group started to actually run. 

The monster's screams got louder at the sight of the flames, and with them Legend’s frustration only grew. The wings on his back craved for open sky, where he could glide freely above the treeline and take out these annoying pests with his bow one-by-one, watching as they scrambled on the ground, unable to ride the winds up to him.

But no, they were stuck in a tightly knit forest, in a yet-to-be-recognized Hyrule, with barely enough room to dodge. Simply put, Legend was annoyed, and with a glance at the others he could tell they were in the same boat.

Hyrule spun in a quick circle, completely ignoring the spreading fires around them, and before choosing a direction and bolting forward, only stopping for a quick second to see if his confused comrades were following.

“This way is north! Hurry up, it's better than nothing!”

“So you recognise this place!?” Warriors piped up.

“Nope!” 

“Then how the heck do you know which way is north!?” Twilight shouted, kicking a pig-thing out of the air as it lunged for Wind, only for it to jump right up like nothing happened.

“It involves moss—I’ll tell you later when we aren't about to get killed!”

“Ah yes, fair point.” 

“Less talking, more escaping!” Four yelled, flaring his humming bird wings out wide when a monster got a little to close for comfort, trying to scare it off.

Legend tried to hide a wince as one of the multi-colored wings smacked harshly against a tree.

It continued like this for Hylia knows how long, weaving through trees and dodging monster attacks, along with throwing a well aimed rock or two.

But when Wind let out a joyous shriek in front of him, the only thing Legend could do was grin.

And at the first sight of blue, eight sets of wings snapped open, and into the sky they went.

Legend let out a joy filled “ WOOP!” as the monsters shrieked in fury, their arrows not able to reach them as they spun and flipped out of the way, retreating out into the sky.

“Fucking finally! I thought I would never be able to fly again!” he shrieked, shaking his head as the wind whipped his hair into his eyes, it felt great.

“LANGUAGE!” Time snapped, his huge bald eagle wings flapping threateningly. 

“Let's just focus,” Twilight sighed, “we got away from the pigs, but we still have no idea where we are. Does anyone recognise anything?”

“Well, we can obviously cross out my Hyrule!” Wind chirped, happily dive bombing Twilight, who squawked in alarm. “No endless ocean in these parts!”

“No, really? I hadn't noticed.” Four rolled his eyes, gesturing to the vast green valleys and forests below.

Wind—either oblivious to the sarcasm or just ignoring it—merely smiled and rolled out of the way of Twilights counter attack, cackling.

Time sighed, ignoring the chaos, and kept his attention to the horizon, looking for any familiar landmarks. It seemed that the land truly just went on for forever. He didn't seem to recognize any of it. There were no villages or towns, just rivers and large rocks in the places barren of trees. 

He didn't see anything from the other Hyrules either. There were no temples to be seen from Legend’s era, and Time felt a now familiar pain in his heart when he didn't see Lon Lon Ranch in the distance.

It was just so huge.

Time was snapped out of his head when the feeling of someone's feathers brushed against his own.

Warriors was flying side by side with the older hero, though for how long, Time didnt know, flying in a way that made the tips of his primaries brush against his own, a worried expression etched onto his face.

“You don't think—”

“We don't know yet, War,” Time interrupted, beating his wings twice before returning to a glide. “We have been at this for months now, I don't see why Hylia would just drop another on us this late…”

Warriors shrugged, an impressive feat as he was flying.“Hylia likes to play Her sick games. Maybe we're just in a between zone; it's happened before…” 

Time couldn't tell if that was a statement or he was just trying to make himself believe it.

Time smiled softly and brushed his wing tips against Warriors’ before returning his sights to the ground, watching as trees flew by (heh) and animals ran for the cover of shadows.

Everything seemed…quiet, overgrown. Like an abandoned garden, free to grow in whatever way it wishes. 

But, once again, Time was forced to leave his thoughts as a blur of gray, blue, and blonde zoomed past him, nearly colliding with his left wing. 

“Wind, wait up!” Hyrule screeched, his black kite wings straining to catch up with the little blur—now acknowledged as Wind—who was flying forward at astounding speeds. Who knew northern fulmars could fly that fast?

Just as Time was about to yell at them, a large shadow fell over both Time and Warriors. Sky easily had the largest wingspan of the group, the frigate bird in him easily giving him that advantage. His wings, long and dark, almost completely covered the two males from above. 

Sky smiled down at the two and answered Time before he even asked the question.

“Twilight saw something up ahead,” he said, “Wind decided to go investigate before anyone could grab him.”

“That little shit is fast—OW!” Legend yelped, flapping his raven wings away from Twilight, who had swatted the back of his head. “THE HELL MAN—!”

“Boys!” Time snapped, “stop bickering and move; we're going to lose Hyrule and Wind at this rate.” He squinted at the two shapes on the horizon. Damn, they really were fast.

“Twilight?”

“On it,” he said, trying (and somewhat failing) to get ahead of the group, his wings beating heavily. “It looks like some sort of spire or column of some sort…” 

Warriors looked ahead, only the slowly creeping mixture of tropical palms with pine and oak visible to his eyes. How Twilight was able to see that far was beyond him.

Soon, the flock was gliding over a large tropical forest, with bottomless ravines and towering red stone cliffs.  
Monsters kept popping out of seemingly nowhere, waiting for the group to fly closer to the ground to strike, like that was ever going to happen.

Four chirped happily when Wind and Hyrule came back into view, circling over what looked like not exactly a stone column, but more of an ancient looking tower.

The structure looked like it was made of crumbling yellowstone and old ladder-like vines. It seems like the only way to get up to the top was to fly or climb, three ledges built close to the top like resting pads. Directly above them were holes, like entrances.

“Is this… is this thing glowing blue?” Four raised a brow, looking at the tower up and down.

Indeed, the structure did have a strange blue light glowing from inside the tower, like it was sealed inside by the old stone.

“Well, blue usually means good right?” Legend chirped, angling his glide toward the top of the tower. “What's the worst that can happen?”

Sky made a small noise in the back of this throat, circling the tower’s base and looking closely at the stone. “Well for starters, we have no idea what this thing could do. It could be a monster beacon or a shield projector, and we are out of potions and arrows, so we aren’t exactly prepared if we get attacked. Also, most of our weapons are damaged and Smithy here doesn't have enough materials to fix them...or even—”

“Okay, okay!” Legend grumbled, cutting off Sky, still making his way to the top. “But still, maybe there's something useful up here? It won't hurt to check,” he said, feet lightly touching down on the edge of the tower terrace.

Warriors whistled to the two circling heroes above them all before following Legend. As the others touched down they found...

Nothing.

Literally nothing. 

“Well, that was anticlimactic,” Sky said softly, placing a hand onto a stone pillar. There were six of them in total, stationed in pairs by the three holes in the ground, and connected to the ceiling like support beams.

As his hand touched the old stone, it seemed to slightly crumble. Dust lighty fell where his hand touched.  
Sky decided to tread carefully.

Twilight and Four walked over to the two center pillars. One was hanging from the ceiling and was made of dark, black stone. Rivlets of blue softly pulsed across its surface, connecting to a glowing blue eye at the bottom.

Underneath the pillar was a circular pedestal. It was about as tall as Wind, made with both black and yellow stone; the same veins of blue in the grain of the hanging stone ran through the pedestal, but here it looked as though a chunk had been carved out, revealing a rectangular spot of pure blue light.

Time stayed by the edge of the tower, looking out at the land beyond. It was a marvel to see, now that he had the opportunity to stand back and admire it. To the north, all Time could see were large hills and mountains, the outline of Hyrule Castle plain as day in the middle of a field. Even further away, too far away to see clearly unless he squinted, he could make out a silhouette of... a giant bird?

He shook his head, feathers fluffing up. That was weird.

To the west was what looked like another tower—there was more than one, curious—and what looked like desert cliffs. He elected to ignore the giant camel sitting on the top. The east was just a continuation of the tropical forest they flew over, a large waterfall or two softly audible in the distance. Lastly, to the south, a large ocean could be seen, and Time whistled lowly in wonder. It was a marvel Hyrule had managed to stop Wind from bolting down there before they had caught up to him.

Speaking of which— 

“Wind, Hyrule, did either of you see anything on the way here?” Time said, gently folding his wings behind his back, ignoring the feeling of ruffled feathers.

Wind grinned, gray-white feathers fluffing up a small bit as he walked over the west edge. “There’s a strange looking monster dancing around down there, had a weird yellow robe and stuff.” Wind squinted at the ground, huffing. “Hyrule dragged me up here before I could get a better look though…”

Time nodded his head, trying not to grin at the pride dominating Hyrule’s face.

“But!” Wind piped up, wings flaring out slightly, “we DID see some things southeast of here, some weird glowing rock things, and then Hyrule saw a giant horse head!” 

Legend’s head snapped away from the hanging stone (why the fuck did it have an eye!?) and looked at Wind with an expression of pure confusion, which made Warriors start to cackle, and which Sky in turn dropped to the ground laughing, trying to keep his wings from flaring out and hitting anyone.

“You WHAT?” Legend asked, his voice somewhat high pitched.

“Hyrule saw a giant horse head!” Wind chirped, wings flaring. “It was huge, the size of an inn, I swear! And I could have sworn I saw little things crawling in and out of it, though Hyrule’s eyesight is far better than mine.” 

“WhAT—”

Hyrule,no longer able to hold in his amusement, started laughing right along with Sky and Warriors, brown and black feathers fluffing up in mirth. “Dear Hylia, Legend!”, he said, “we saw a freaking stable!” Hyrule laughed, hugging his sides. “Did you think we found some sort of living horse head?!” he laughed out. 

Legend, still confused as hell, felt heat rise to his face and whipped back around to look at Wind. “Why didn't you lead with that?!”

Wind, the smug lil’ shit, just shrugged and grinned. “I thought it would be funny to answer in the dumbest way possible?” 

Wind’s carefree laugh turned into a surprised squawk as Legend charged him, black crow feathers ruffled in frustration.

The two ended up jumping off the tower and engaging in a game of tag-to-the-death, with Time yelling at them to stay close, clearly already done with their shit.

Sighing, Four stood up from where he had been kneeling by Twilight, ignoring the chaotic sounds of Legend and Wind chasing each other around the tower. He had no idea what the hell this thing was for, or what that glowing rectangle was about, but it didn't look like he was going to get any answers here.

“Angering Legend aside, a stable might be our best bet at the moment. We might get some information. For example, I don't know, where we are” he cut himself off, trying not to bring up the obvious again. “I just don't see what an old lookout tower is gonna do for us.”

“You have to admit, it does have quite a view,” Warriors said, looking out at the ocean, leaning over the side just a little. “I mean, just look at this place!” 

Time tore his gaze away from the distant castle and let out a shrill whistle, signaling Wind and Legend to get their butts back to the group. 

Once every member’s attention was on him (and once Twilight pried Legend off of the pirate), Time squared his shoulders and puffed out his brown and white feathers, showing authority. 

Leader mode: activated.

“All right,” he started, looking at Hyrule. “Are you sure this stable looked safe?” 

Hyrule’s wings flared out slightly at the sudden call out. “I, uh, I think so? I only got a quick look at it before catching the seagull—”

“HEY!” 

“—but it looked relatively peaceful, no weapons to be seen except some farm tools.” 

Warriors snorted. “We all saw what Time can do with a pitch fork, so if these folks are anything like him, we’re doomed.”

No one missed the way Sky shuddered “Never again…” 

With a smirk, Time hopped up into the ledge, looking over his shoulder at his younger comrades. “Well then, let’s not give them a reason to use pitchforks, shall we?”

-

It turned out that the stable hands DID think they had to use pitchforks.

And for the life of him Time could not figure out why! As far as he knew, they didn't do anything wrong. 

Honestly! Not a single possible offense came to mind. 

The only thing they did was land on the stable’s landing deck, a rather small one might he add; Sky had to stop Four from falling off the edge due to lack of space.

So when a pitch fork (kind of ironic considering the topic a few minutes ago) flew over their heads, almost impaling Warriors, there was only one thing on Time’s mind.

Shit.

“Get your asses down here and face me like men, yiga scum!” 

“The fuck did he just call us—!”

“Language!” Time growled for what felt like the millionth time, resisting the urge to cuff Legend over the head with his wing. “We don't want to seem even more threatening than we already do.”

Sky slowly stepped forward, hands raised and wings lowered in a non-threatening way. He was always labeled the peacemaker of the flock, and now he really needs that in his favor.

“We don't mean any harm!” he shouted down to the ground, trying not to tense up upon noticing another pitch fork in the man's hands. “We have come to rest, we have been in the air most of the day. All we want is a place to sleep is all! Regroup ourselves!” 

The man below was hard to make out. Sky’s eyesight was probably the worst out of all of them when it came to distance, so the only thing he could see clearly were the deep brown of the man’s wings and the dark green of his outfit.

“What do you think of bananas?” 

Sky blinked. “Excuse me?”

The stranger stepped forward, brandishing his weapon up to them. “I said, what do you think of bananas?” he growled, each word as clipped and sneered like he was shooting them off of a taut bowstring.

“What kind of stupid question is that?” Time, no longer holding back the urge, not so gently smacked Legend over the head with his massive wing, making Legend stumble slightly with a yelp.

Sky, still trying to keep up his calm demeanor, felt his wings perked up slightly at the random question. He didn't want this to go down a path of embarrassment, for both him and the stable hand, so he answered, “not my favorite, and the little one over there is allergic to them—”

“Call me little one again and I swear to Hylia—” Four got smacked with Time’s other wing.

“—so our tastes kind of vary on that subject, may I ask why?”

The man seemed to relax somewhat, Sky’s words easing whatever thought was playing in his head. He lowered his weapon and stabbed it in the ground. “All right then, you can come down, just don't do anything shifty!” 

With a quick nod and mumbles from the rest of the group, Sky, Wind, and Hyrule started to climb down the ladder to go for a “we are the peaceful ones” vibe, while the others decided to just jump off the freaking 30 foot landing and glide softly to the ground, sending out the “we can totally take you out but we don't feel like it” vibe.

Sky scoffed. Typical.

The man’s hand twitched slightly to his weapon as the boys dropped heavily to the ground, eyeing their wings as they furled and unfurled.

Honestly, he looked like a typical stable boy, or at least from the ones Sky had seen from the others’ lands. Dirt and hay clung to his green tunic and trousers. His dark hair was up in a style that looked like a cross between ponytails and side burns, carefully framing his face as if to say “hey look at me please!” A small goatee that looked somewhat like a splotch of dirt on his chin completed the look. 

He was also extremely skinny, making him look like an easy target for any monster that passes by, so he was either very brave or very stupid to confront eight heavily armed strangers.

Though, there was something strange that stuck out to Sky, the man wore some sort of strange, leather armor over his wings, unlike anything he had ever seen. It attached at the shoulders like shoulder guards, and ran up the base of his wings all the way to the curve, where it got thicker around the joint and then thinned out all the way to the tips of his feathers.

Sky had no idea what they were used for, and honestly, he was too nervous to ask at the moment.

“Sorry about that,” the stranger said; he couldn't be older than twenty years at most. “Please forgive me, but you can't be too careful these days, Yiga sightings have been skyrocketing as of late.” 

Sky tilted his head, confusion clear on his face. “Well...”

“What's a Yiga?” Wind pushed past the ruffled feathers of Four and Twilight. “And why are you so worried about them?”

The stranger looked at Wind with an expression that was just full of confusion, like the pirate had just asked him what a tree was. “How in Hylia's name do you not know who the Yiga are?”

‘Good to know they know who the goddess is,’ Sky thought with a sigh, watching as Time stepped forward.

“Forgive my friend's bluntness, we have... been overseas for a long time, living out on the open water and what not.” He gently nudged Wind’s arm with his wing. “We haven't heard anything about what has happened on the mainland in a very long time…”

The man relaxed again, but not as much as before; his wings twitched softly, showing that he was being vigilant.

At least he's smart. 

“We... we can speak of those scumbags later,” he spat out, like just mentioning them left a bad taste on his tongue. “Right now I need to let people know it's safe, you gave us all quite a scare. Have a look around if you want.” He turned around and walked into the horse shaped tent.

Sky didn't realize how empty the area was until people started slowly pouring out of the building, travelers and stable hands alike. Had they really scared them all that bad? Sky didn't think they were that scary!

Though... with a quick look at Time’s armor and Legend’s pink hair and grumpy expression, he could somewhat see where they got that impression from.

“Alright,” Time spoke up, drawing everyone's attention onto him. “We all need to spread out and gather as much information as possible without alerting anyone.” He looked worriedly at the old man now standing in front of the horse tent, looking straight ahead unblinkingly. “We don't want to cause any more problems…”

After everyone gave their respective sign of agreement—Warriors saluted, while Wind said “aye aye, captain”, making Four snort—they all split away from each other, going off in small groups. War and Legend went to talk with pitch-fork boy, Time and Twilight went to talk to the old man, ratheror Time did; Twilight saw a fluffy dog by the horses, screeched, and bolted to it, completely abandoning Time. Four, Sky, and Wind all went inside, presumably to go pay for beds for the night. 

So that left Hyrule, who had no idea what the heck to do.

After a few moments of contemplating his possible choices, he decided to go talk to some travelers by a cooking pot when someone's soft cursing made its way to his ears.

Bingo.

Hyrule slowly walked around the building, leaving the sounds of Legend’s shreeching behind (“BUT WHY DOES IT HAVE TEETH!?”) and followed the sounds of heavy cursing and grunting until he saw a young girl, maybe 15 years old, trying to lift a barrel twice her size. 

She was kind of short, with dirty blonde hair done up in the same hairstyle as the pitch-fork man. She also had the same dark green uniform and weird leather lines on her blue jay-like wings. 

“Need some help?” he asked gently, trying not to startle her.

Sadly, that did not work. As soon as the words left his mouth she whipped around, the heavy barrel forgotten. Her black-blue wings flared out, and her hand went straight for the knife sheathed at the small of her back.

Not a great start if you ask him.

Hyrule stepped back, ruffling his feathers in an apologetic way, trying to calm her down with wing movements alone. Luckily it seemed to work, her hand dropped away from the hilt of her knife and her wings quickly folded back to their resting position.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you,” he said, flashing a quick shy smile. 

“No, no need to apologise, I shouldn't have been so jumpy,” she sighed, blue wings slumping slightly. “Do you need help with anything?” she asked.

“I was going to ask you that.'' Hyrule walked over to the barrel. ''This thing looks like it's giving you some problems.”

The lady sighed, looking like she wanted to kick the thing. “Indeed, it's some special horse feed, but as you can probably tell, it weighs, like, two tons.”

Hyrule looked up at her and smiled. “Well, I might be able to help, my friends all kind of ditched me, so I have nothing to do otherwise.” Okay that’s... not really a lie.

“I mean, that would be great! But only if you’re up to lugging this a small distance.” 

Hyrule looked at the barrel, then at the horse pens, a few yards away, then at the barrel again. He made a small noise of “why the heck not” and lifted the barrel onto his shoulder in one swift movement, not noticing the sound of surprise the lady made when he picked it up.

“So, um, what's your name mister?” she asked, leading the way to the horse pen.

“Hyrule,” he said shortly, trying to find balance with the heavy weight now on his shoulders, his wings flaring slightly.

“Your folks must really like Hyrule, huh.” 

“I get that a lot.” 

The lady chuckled, leading the way to the pen. It had three horses in total, all with different coat colors and patterns. Twilight was on the ground petting a fluffy dog happily, eyeing Hyrule curiously as he walked closer.

It surprised the young hero when she walked right past them, only sparing a single pat on the nose for the dog before continuing on, heading towards a beaten path.

“I’m Cima,” she said, starting down the path.

Hyrule gave Twilight a quick glance, and Twilight looked at him somewhat worriedly.  
He gave the other hero a quick nod and jogged to catch up, careful not to knock into delicate bluejay wings with the unsteady barrel over his shoulder. As he walked, he looked around with curious eyes, wondering where they were headed.. 

“What—”

“You’ll see. Watch your step, the paths uneven,” was all she said, keeping her eyes ahead. 

She was right. The path was big enough for a horse or two to walk back and forth comfortably, but the loose stones and roots made him stumble from time to time, almost making him drop the barrel and breaking it.

“I'm sorry about Kampo earlier,” she said after many moments of silence. “We always tell him “ask first, shank later” but he never listens.” 

“So that's his name,” Hyrule mumbled, dodging a tree root.

“Yeah, he's super overprotective, but he has a big heart, just... an aggressive one.” 

Hyrule shifted slightly “So why did he think we were Yiga?” 

The deep blue of Cima’s feathers puffed up at the name. “Yeah... sorry about that as well, it's just that we don't get many visitors coming in from the sky. Most just come in on horseback or on foot, so when you and your friends decided to land on our watchtower… let’s just say he freaked.”

Hyrule winced. “We thought it was a landing pad, to be honest.”

Cima laughed. “Wow, your friend wasn't kidding, you guys really are from far away. Hylian stables haven't had landing pads since the Calamity first struck.

“What now?” 

A dark look over took Cima’s face and she shook her head. “it was a century ago, so don't worry about it. it's all over now, anyway.” She tried to change the subject swiftly. “We converted the pads into watch towers, so we know if any monsters or yiga clan members are close.” 

Hyrule nodded, trying to push the Calamity thing out of his mind. Something told him that Cima was not going to tell him more on the matter, so he decided to just drop it.

For now, at least.

“Oh!” Cima picked up the pace slightly. “We’re here!” 

Hyrule quickened his pace to match hers and was surprised at what he saw.

It looked like a large section of forest had been chopped down and turned into a meadow of sorts, old tree trunks still sat buried in the ground. A large pen was built in the center of the clearing, big enough to have seven horses roam around inside. Freshly bloomed flowers grew on the inside of the pen in a multitude of colors, and the trees surrounding it let both shade and sunlight through in perfect amounts.

To put it simply, it was a really pretty place. 

“You can put the barrel over by the trough, she usually will eat right out of it.”

“She?”

Cima smiled and pointed over to one of the sunny patches of the pen, and that's when Hyrule saw her.

A large mare was lying down in the sun, her head drooping slightly as if she were about to fall asleep, her coat was a mix of pink and white splotches, mane a bright blond color; from this distance Hyrule could see pretty pink and red flowers braided into the mane.

“River!” Cima yelled. “River! Chow time!” 

The pretty mare slowly turned her head toward the two Hylians, letting out a loud whinny in response. Hyrule had almost forgotten to put the barrel down. 

“Why is she out here all alone?” he asked, watching as the mare got closer. 

“Well,” Cima started and pulled out her knife. “She normally has a couple of others out here with her, like that big one last week or the white stallion, but she was the only one to come here this time. River is a special horse, the hero’s first steed as the rumors go, so she gets special treatment whenever put into our care.” 

She dug the knife into the lid of the barrel and started to shimmy it around, trying to open it.

Hyrule’s eyes widened. “T-the hero?” 

Cima nodded, still trying to pry the stubborn lid off. 

No, it couldn’t be. The hero’s? That couldn't be right, but could it? Hyrule thought he and the others were the only ones. The only heroes Hylia created.

Could he be wrong?

‘Stop it,’ he thought, ‘don't think that far into it, you don't want to have another mental breakdown. Especially in front of a stranger! 

Yes, they have met people in between timelines that have called themselves heroes, people with daring stories of saving a small town or slaying a monster, but none had spoken of the Master Sword, and none had mentioned the hero’s spirit dwelling inside of them. 

This could just be another one of those times.

Hyrule felt a soft nudge against his wing and a snort. River has made it to the fence, and started nudging him, almost as if she was trying to get him out of his deep thoughts. 

He laughed softly and petted her nose, noticing the faint scars running along her snout and hide, and he wondered faintly where she got them.

“Hey there sweet girl, whatcha’ doing?” He laughed when she let out a large snort and bobbed her head into his hands, like she was saying hello. 

“Wow, she really likes you, huh?” Cima huffed out, struggling with the lid. “She's never that affectionate with me and I feed her—AH HA!” she cried out in victory, holding the lid high over her head. 

River smelled the scent coming from the barrel and walked over, immediately nibbling at the massive supply of freshly cut apples, oranges, strawberries, mangos, some different types of melon and sweet potatoes.

This horse was living like a queen over here.

While watching River’s reaction to the food was adorable, it didn't make the uneasy feeling in his stomach go away.

What if there was another. Another Link who had suffered the same grief and heartache as they did at the hands of Hylia.  
The very thought made his wings bristle painfully.

“Come on,” Cima said, not noticing the change in Hyrule’s mood. “Let's leave her to eat. Your friends are probably wondering where you are.”

Oh right, Hyrule did just kind of leave without telling anyone… and went into the woods with a random girl without telling anyone…

Ah fuck, he was screwed. 

“R-right,” he stuttered, petting River’s mane once more, carefully avoiding the flowers braided into her hair. He wondered who put them there.

With a sigh, the brown feathered boy started his way back up the trail following right behind the blue-jay stable girl, and swallowed, he had only learned a few things and yet he had hundreds of questions for each of them. 

But there was one thing Hyrule knew.

He really needed some freaking sleep.


	2. Braces and songs- well getting lost along the way.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys run into some unwanted trouble.

“So, where are your braces?” 

Warriors looked up from the burning fire in front of him, the smell of tasty food rolling over the group like a heavy blanket. Thank Hylia that one of the stable hands was cooking; if Hyrule had picked up the ladle, Warriors swore he would have flown straight into the nearest cliff.

It was early the next morning, the sky bright with the pinks and oranges of the rising sun. The group of eight was mixed with the early risers of the stable. Travelers and stable workers alike were seated around the small cooking fire, shoulders pressed together and wings flushed against one another. They laughed and talked as Miss Cima stirred a pot of delicious smelling liquid—simmered fruits, he thinks she called it. 

Honestly, it all brought a smile to Warriors’s face. It reminded him of his time as a captain, smushed together by a bright fire with his patrol squadron, with them all laughing at one of his many stories of battles and failed love attempts.

They hadn't learned much about the hero so far, the workers preoccupied with giving their group tips for surviving on the "mainland" . Things like who to be wary of, what animals were safe to hunt, and how to avoid Lynel territories well in the air. Warriors had no idea what a Lynel even was, but from the shudder Legend gave, he figured he did not want to find out.

He and Legend did find out what this Yiga Clan was, or at least learned enough to get the general idea. A cult filled with swift archers and huge sword masters who wore black and red suits as well as masks with an upside-down crying eye. Apparently, they had an ability to disappear in flashes of fire and smoke, leaving behind singed paper tags and a mocking laugh. They disguised themselves as innocent travelers, preying .  on kind souls who had the misfortune to fall for their lies

“They love bananas,” said the man with the pitchfork, now known as Kampo. “They can't live without them, and that's the trick to see if someone is a Yiga. Wave a banana in their face, and they'll keel over like a puppy asking for a bone.”

Legend was cackling up a storm, finding amusement in how stupid it all sound. A group that sounded so terrifying had a weakness as dumb as bananas? It was absurd! 

“So what? Is it a fruit cult or something?” he gasped out, shiny black feathers puffing up in mirth.

Kampo's smile wavered, his feathers puffing up uncomfortably. “No, they... served the Calamity…” 

Legend’s laughter stopped abruptly at the haunted sound in the stablehand’s voice. “The what?” Warriors asked.

Kampo just shook his head, a sardonic grin twisting his lips. "Never you boys mind that," he said, exhaustion and relief clashing in his tone. His wings laid low, drooping to the ground like just thinking of the Calamity—an event? or a being?—was enough to put the weight of the world on his shoulders. "It's all over, at any rate. Nothing to be worried about now."

“Our what?” Twilight spoke, snapping Warriors back to the present. The ranch hand was between Time and Miss Cima, engrossed in a discussion with a traveler and leaning so far back he nearly fell off his seat to look at her wings.

“Your braces,” the young traveler said. She was seated at the edge of a log, opposite of Twilight. She carefully flared her wings out behind her. Four, who was sitting next to her, quietly marveled at the sight. Sparkling green blue and black feathers shined in the rising light of the sun. They were the wings of a hummingbird, just like Four's, but they lacked the deep reds and iridescent purples of the small hero. 

Oh, and the traveler’s wings were about three times the size of Four’s, another sizeable difference

Warriors surveyed the vast expanse of pretty feathers. His eyes caught the lines of thin leather running down the length of her wings, bound securely to where bone lay under the skin. They were just like the stablehand’s, but more worn and roughed up. “We use them to fly.”

That got Wind to look up from his food. “Wait, so you are grounded without those things?” 

An old man let out a loud hearty laugh, deep brown wings flaring out slightly and rubbing against Time's. The girl looked somewhat surprised at the question, if not a little offended. Warriors understood that feeling, being grounded in his time was something that happened to criminals or naughty children who disobey their mothers.

“No, my young friend,” the laughing man said. “We can fly perfectly fine with or without them, but they do help us significantly.”

“How long have you guys been out at sea?” the girl huffed out, sitting back on the log with her arms crossed. She carefully tucked her wings back down as she continued talking. “Wing braces are as important as spoons and forks, there's no way you haven't heard of them.” She stuffed her own spoon into her mouth like she wanted to prove a point.

Sky shifted away from the girl. Whether it was because he was uncomfortable with the questions or she was being too loud, Warriors could not tell, but he could start to feel a prickle of unease run up his wings as they ruffled up slightly.

“We, um...”

“We were born and raised at sea, actually!” Hyrule piped up, saving Sky from coming up with yet another hasty lie. “Our parents thought that the mainland was way too dangerous, so we have lived on the water most of our lives. Right, boys?”   
  


“Yup!”

“Overprotective parents, am I right?”

“It's not all it’s cracked up to be.”

“Just us and the open water!”

“The water is so wet out there—”

“More fruit please!”

The lady's wings twitched in frustration, accidentally cuffing Four's shoulders in the process. “But still—” 

“Trevor,” the brown winged man said, stroking his thick tan beard. “If these lads don't want to share, then they don't have to. Everyone has secrets they wish to keep locked up.” The man looked down his crooked nose at her.

Trevor huffed and stuffed her spoon back into her mouth, not satisfied with the answer but dropping the  subject.

  
  


Warriors could practically hear the group mentally sigh.

“Now for your earlier question, little one.” Wind squawked at being called little. “The winds all around Hyrule are pretty rough. They can go from a gentle breeze to a tree smashing force as quickly as you could blink.”

The man lifted up his own wings, deep brown but starting to lighten with older age. They gently brushed against Time's, ruffling his feathers. The buckles of the man's brace shined in the light, the leather just as worn and old as Trevor’s.

“These do-dads help make our wings more sturdy during flight. Help us gain better control when the sky throws us a surprise. Now, it won’t stop you from being smashed into a cliffside, but it will lower the chances.” He slowly dropped his wings back down, winking. “Think of it as a second lock in the wing.” 

Warriors swallowed thickly. They must have been a group of lucky bastards to have made it to the stable in one  piece . 

The rest of the morning went by without any major event. Wind had a cussing match with the old man (and would have won if Twilight had not smacked him over the head with his wing); Four and Sky were trying to learn more about the braces, how they were made, how they worked, all the boring stuff. Hyrule was quietly talking to Kampo about some horse.  _ River? Who named their horse River? _ And Legend was going through people's bags like a raven on a mission.

it was quiet, peaceful. If Warriors strained his ears, he could even almost imagine the swell of music floating on the wind.

_"...Kingdom... Stories...Villainous_ _hand..."_

Or maybe he wasn't imagining it?

Warriors looked to the forest, the dense foliage keeping him from seeing too far within. A distant voice echoed through the woods, warm and powerful despite how far away it must surely be. His hands stilled in their task of sorting through his bags, mind now focused on the music.

_ "Dark... Destruction... Ganon... One..." _

Miss Cima, who was kindly helping Warriors take stock of his inventory, dropped his pouch filled with emergency rupees when she heard it, a happy high-pitched chirp and trill escaping her throat. “Oh, my Hylia, Shay! He's back! Mr. Kass is back!” she yelled, darting toward the tree line with her pretty blue wings flaring out as if she were about to fly.

“ _...Princess... Fearless knight... Age to… _ ”

“Don't be long now!” the short old man called out, not looking away from the stable entrance. “You still have many chores to do when you return!”

“ _..Battle with... Song… Keep it... How long… _ ”

“Will do, Shay!” she yelled happily, kicking off from the ground and flapping her wings, heading straight into the trees.   
  
“ _...There... Ganon 10,000 years... Lasting…” _

Warriors almost called out, unlike Hyrule who actually squawked with alarm. But just as she was about to crash headfirst into the trees, she  _ swerved,  _ tucking her wings tightly to her body and shooting between the trees, flaring them out where there was an opening and even swinging on a branch or two to keep up the momentum. 

She was flying in the trees,  _ she was flying in the trees! What the fuck— _

“ _...Kingdom of... Lasting peace... Culture of strength…” _ _   
_ _   
_ Not even a moment later, the deep blue of her wings was lost to the trees. _   
  
_

Warriors was too stunned to realize that the other stablehands were running to the woods after their friend. Even a couple of travelers followed in their wake, the many colors of their feathers disappearing into the shadows of the woods.

How was it possible? Warriors never knew anyone skilled enough to fly in a thickly wooded area. Were the people of this Hyrule that evolved? Why in the world would someone need to learn such a skill? 

But just as the last traveler disappeared into the leaves, Wind zoomed past Warriors, wings outstretched as if he were about to take to the sky. 

“ _...Lurked beneath... Strengthening... Jaws…”  _

“I'm going to see what all the fuss is about!” he shouted, kicking off the ground and flapping frantically to gain altitude.

Warriors didn't even register getting into the air until he was soaring above the treetops. His wings knew what he wanted before he even thought about it.

The others were the same way.

“Do you guys see anything?” Legend shouted, the strong wind pushing his blonde hair into his eyes. 

“It's coming over there I think!” Sky said, pointing to a clearing in the trees, small multicolored...music notes(?) floated up from the ground and into the sky. As they flew closer, the sound of an accordion got louder and louder.

“ _ —the ancient people of Hyrule set out to help the cause _ .”

The flock was soon circling above the small clearing. The workers and travelers were seated on the ground or perched on thick tree branches, all listening to a group of human sized birds.

Wait… What?  __

Warriors looked down at the clearing again. In the middle were seven human-sized birds. Two of them as big as adults, five of them the size of small children. 

One of the adult-sized ones had a feminine build. Mint green and cloud white feathers covered her underneath tribal-looking clothes of many different colors, and what appeared to be a light orange egg was strapped to her chest like a cat's cradle.

_ A mother,  _ he thought, looking at the five smaller birds fluttering around her, their feathers ranging all over the rainbow. Bright colorful music notes appeared from their beaks as they sang, floating into the sky.

Then there was the last one. In his wings (hands?) was a large accordion, playing an elegant melody with his sorrowful voice.

His feathers were a lighter blue than Cima's, and his clothes were like the woman’s.

He glanced up as the shadows of their flock's wings danced on the ground and smiled as they circled overhead, never stopping with his song.    
  


“ _ The efforts bore fruit in an automatic force. To help avert Calamity by sealing it at its source _ .”

Warriors landed lightly on the ground, trying not to disturb the atmosphere the man had created and opted to listen from the shadows of the trees. Again, the others had the same idea as him.

“ _ Each of these titans called a Divine Beast, and free-willed machines that hunted their prey— _ ”

Legend walked over to Warriors, who was leaning on a tree. His face clearly said _ “why am I here?” _ , but his black wings twitched with interest and curiosity. Warriors felt the same. 

“ _ —These guardians were built to last, so they could join the fray _ .” The birdman smiled as a red chick fluttered over his head. “ _ To guide the beasts to battle, warriors were needed, so four champions were pledged to see Ganon defeated _ .” 

“ _ Divine beast, champions, princess and knight, their plan to rout Ganon was looking airtight— _ ” 

The little birds whistled and chirped along with the elder's tune. The slim, bird-woman seemed to try not to make any sudden or harsh movements, most likely because of the egg strapped to her chest. Sky made a small cooing sound at the sight.

“ _ —and when Ganon reared his head, Hyrule rose against it! The optimism of Hyrule all the more incensed it. _

_ Ganon raged in its assault, boiling with hate, it gashed its teeth and thrashed about, but it was all too late. _

_ The guardians kept the heroes safe through every hour, the Divine Beasts unleashed attacks that weakened Ganon's power.” _

_ The hero with the sealing sword struck the final blow, and the holy power of the princess sealed Ganon. _

_ And that's the story of the blazing attack on Calamity 10,000 years back!” _

As soon as the last note sounded through the air, all of the small audience cheered loudly, wings flaring, the calm mood changing to one of excitement. The sudden clamor was so surprising that Four fell out of his tree with a squawk.

“Thank you, thank you!” the large bird said, plucking one of his children out of the air and placing her on his shoulder. “I'm happy to know how much you all care for our craft, but really, you all could have waited at the stables for us to arrive!” he laughed.

A roar of squawks and chirps sounded through the air as if the very idea of waiting offended them.

Some people dispersed, going back into the trees and disappearing into the shadows, some glided over to the green feathered mother, chirping around her and lightly pressing their hands onto her egg’s shell once they were granted permission, smiling as if they felt something move. A few even flew in circles overhead, gliding around with the colorful chicks, beating their wings to make air currents to push them up in the air.

But Warriors was not paying attention, the words of the song circling in his head.  _ Ganon? Sword that seals? 10,000 years!? So this was a time between them. Maybe there was no hero at the moment. _

Then why was there an uneasy feeling in his gut?

Sky hopped down from his perch in a tree next to Wind and started to walk over toward the big blue bird-man. Fi was practically buzzing in her place between his shoulder blades as if she were trying to speak to him, though she had remained silent throughout this journey. Her voice was still lost to him.

“Hello,” he said once he reached the blue feathered man. “That was a lovely song you sang.”

The man turned to Sky and smiled brightly, his daughter fluttering off his shoulder to join her sisters.

“Why thank you, my friend. It always brings such joy to know the people of this land enjoy my late teacher’s works,” he said happily. 

Sky smiled at him, but Fi was still buzzing on his back. Was she trying to make him ask the man questions? Did she know something he did not?

“So, um, that song, about the hero. Was that all true?” he asked, trying to keep up the ‘innocent traveler’ ruse before the more chaotic members of the flock  _ -cough- _ Legend, and Wind - _ cough- _ decided to question the poor musician as well. Fi seemed to buzz harder like he had asked the right question.

“Why, of course, it’s the truth!” the bird laughed. “The legend of the Hylian hero has been passed down for generations until it was taught to yours truly.”    
  


“Right, right.” Sky chuckled. “My brothers and I have never been around here before, the, um, mainland, so we have been learning many things.”

The bird nodded, slinging his instrument across his back. “Ah, yes. I understand your troubles, my friend. I was the same when I first left my village. ” He held out a feathered hand. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Kass of the Rito.”

_ So that's what they are,  _ Sky thought, taking the feathery limb into his hand. “Sky, of the, um, Hylians.”

Kass threw back his head and laughed, gently taking his hand out of Sky’s hold. “Hylian, you say? Who would have thought, here I was thinking you were a small Goron!”

“Hehehe, I get that a lot.”   
  
_ No, I don't,  _ he thought dumbly. 

Kass nodded, turning away to walk back over to his family. Sky felt Fi shake so hard he thought she was going to fall out of her scabbard. “Wait!”

The Rito turned, quirking a non-existent eyebrow. “Oh, do you have more to ask?”

“Yes, actually. ” Sky rubbed the back of his neck. “Our, uhhhh, parents used to tell us about a, um, cycle! Of a hero, every 10,000 years?” Sky cringed at his awful excuse for a lie; he was never good at coming up with them on the spot. It was lucky he could remember the song to back up his claim.

For a horrifying second, it looked like Kass was buying none of Sky’s bullshit, but the Rito just smiled, like he held a very close secret. 

“A cycle you say?” he murmured, casting a glance over at his wife before looking back at Sky. “Why yes, I have heard of it, one of my traveling accantences has been accused of having such a title on multiple occasions,” the Rito said, smiling. “But that is just a rumor passed around from stables and traveling parties."

Sky's world came to a stop, his huge wings starting to twitch like crazy. “Do you know his name?”

Kass looked down his beak at Sky. “The hero is quite a mysterious man. ” Sky winced at the word hero. So there was one in this time! “Nowadays, he goes by many names, given to him by the people of Hyrule." The look on the Rito's face was one of pity, which quickly turned to curiosity. “May I ask why you are so curious about him?”

Sky’s wings perked up. Right, of course, Kass would become suspicious of him, he was asking questions a common five-year-old should know the answers to. In this time at least.

“As Sky has mentioned before, we are travelers,” said a voice to Sky's right. “My brothers and I have grown up around stories of the hero, but with our living situation, we have had no idea if the tales are true or false," Time said, spinning a lie like a spider making a web. He brushed a calm wing against Sky’s twitching ones, trying to ease his worry.

Kass opened his mouth, but before he could utter a word, the stable girl Hyrule had spoken to glided over to them, skidding down to the ground on Kass's left. “Hello mister, your wife wanted to know—oh! I see you have met Hyrule's companions!” She smiled brightly.   
  


“Ah, Cima! Good to see you, my dear.” Kass gave her a friendly smile. “So you know these people?”

“Sure do!” she said brightly, “Kampo almost turned them to a shishkabob when they came to the stable. Dummy thought they were Yiga.” She snorted, sending an apologetic look at Time. She leaned in close to Kass, like she wanted to keep what she was about to say hidden. “They say they are from the sea; they don't know anything about the Yiga or the Calamity. Nothin'!” 

Sky watched as Time’s feathers bristled, but his face remained calm as ever.

“Do they now…?” He turned his head to look at Sky, then back to Cima. “And what did my wife ask for?”   
  


“Oh right!” Her feathers fluffed up. “She would like to know when you are planning to take them to the stable. The kids really want to see Uncle Beedle.” 

Sky looked over Cima's shoulder, seeing the mint green Rito in the center of a cloud of little chicks. They fluttered around her, chirping up a storm, their colorful notes floating up into the endless sky.

Kass looked at his wife as she shifted the light orange egg in its caring scarf. “Tell her I shall meet her there. There is one last song I must sing tonight. Without a great audience this time, ” he added quickly, noticing the way Cima's wings perked up at the mention of his music.

The girl let out a sad chirp and walked over to the fluttering Rito's, and in that time the other members of their small flock had come closer. Wind and Four sat themselves atop a large boulder, and Hyrule had moved into a tree closer to the group. A lounging Legend perched next to him. Warriors and Twilight took their places at Sky and Time's sides, crossing their arms and trying to match up to the leader vibe Time seemed to radiate. 

  
  


Kass watched as the last remaining Hylians disappeared into the trees, smiling at his wife as she walked into the brush, his daughters hot on her heels. 

“Sorry, my Amali dislikes it when I talk about the hero. She acts like I'm going to pack up and leave when someone mentions him or anything wild about Hyrule” he sighed. Pulling his instrument off of his back, he looked at the group of eight. “So, how much do you all know about our hero, Link? Surely you all must know something.”

The reactions he received were answer enough.

Legend fell out of his tree with a squawk and Wind's mouth dropped open, looking between Time and Kass. The others' reactions were similar. Puffed up feathers, disbelieving chirps, and shocked faces. Sky's wings spasmed so hard he had to let them go limp, their feathery mass softly thumping on the ground as they hung loose on his shoulder blades. Hyrule's theory has been correct. There was another.

Thankfully, Kass decided to ignore the sudden outbursts and pressed a key on his accordion. “The song I am about to sing should answer some of your questions. It was crafted over one hundred years ago, right after the Great Calamity struck.” He pressed another key, a low note sounding through the air. “It was for the hero who walks the lands today.”

“I'm sorry one hundred what now-” Four hit Wind over the head with his multi-colored wing, silently telling him to shut up and listen.

Kass took a deep breath, pressing his feathered fingers onto his keys. And began to sing.

_ "An ancient hero, a Calamity appears, Now resurrected after 10,000 years. _

_ Her appointed knight gives his life, Shields her figure, and pays the price. _

_ The princess's love for her fallen knight awakens her power. And within the castle the Calamity is forced to cower. _

_ But the knight survives! In the Shrine of Resurrection he sleeps, Until from his healing dream he leaps! _

_ For Fierce and deadly trials await. To regain his strength. Fulfill his fate. _

_ To become a hero once again! To wrest the princess from evil's den. _

_ The hero, the princess–hand in hand– Must bring the light back to this land.” _

As the final sound rain threw the air, a heavy silence fell around the area. 

So this Calamity was the Link of this world’s main enemy, his Ganondorf, his Ganon. And by the sound of it, the tasks leading up to his demise did not leave this land unscared.

“So...this hero...died?” Hyrule asked, pulling Legend back up into the tree.

“Yes,” Kass said sadly. “It was said to be tragic...he lost his life in the guardian purge, trying to make his way to Ganon. But…” Kass cut himself off, looking sadly down at his instrument. 

“But you said he still walks the lands, how?” Warriors stepped forward. “Even if he didn't ‘die’ as you say, this all happened over one hundred years ago. The average lifespan of a Hylian is eighty years.” Warriors crossed his arms, an uneasy scowl set on his face. “How can he be the same hero today?”

Kass sighed once again, swinging his instrument onto his back. “Nobody but him knows for certain. The legend goes that he slept in a place called the Shrine of Resurrection, deep in the heart of the Great Plateau. But since it is surrounded by great cliffs, with monsters hidden in the trees. it is very difficult to get to, and very difficult to survive in. So one ever thought to check…”

Time's wings stiffened at the mentions of sleep, but Sky's thoughts were going too fast to register the movement. Fi was still buzzing on his back, but softer, as if she were pleased with what they had learned. 

_ This Hyrule’s Link must be well over one hundred now… How long ago had he beaten this Ganon? Or has he beaten it? Oh, Hylia what if they had landed right in the middle of his quest!? It has not happened before but there's a first time for everything,  _ Sky thought, his inner voice going a mile a minute.

Twilight stepped forward, puffing up his brown-white feathers. “Do you happen to know where he is?”

Kass gave him an odd look. “These days, Link is rarely seen anywhere. After Calamity fell, he sort of closed in on himself, never staying in a village more than a day and a night.” He plucked a loose feather from his arm and let it drift away. “I rarely see him myself nowadays”

The Rito looked into the trees as if trying to see someone walking in the shadows. “From what I have heard… he is still traveling around after all this time. Living deep in the wilds…”

Kass looked back at Twilight. “Though if I had to guess, I would say you might have a slim chance at finding him at Hateno. It's the village that he visits most, or so I have heard.” He leaned down to look Twilight in the eye. “Why do you ask?”

Sky's wings fluffed up uncomfortably, lifting themselves off the ground where they laid. But before anyone could come up with a quick cover, a shrill shriek filled the air, causing Time to flare his wings out in alarm and for Warriors to reach for his knight’s sword.

Kass smiled and raised his hands. “My friends! Please remain calm, that is just my love Amali! She is calling for me.”

Time's wings relaxed and he placed a gentle hand on Warriors’s shoulder. “Apologies. ”

Kass nodded. “No worries, most react to her call in that way.” He looked toward the trees once again. “I should get going, I do not wish to worry her more.”

Kass gave a quick bow before walking off into the forest. His question was forgotten as he disappeared into the brush.

Time sighed, shaking out his stiff feathers as he turned to the group 

“Well, looks like we know what to do next”

  
  


\-------

A large heavy thump sounded off around the dying campfire as Kampo set down a large pile of leather strips.

The group had returned from the forest about three hours ago, they had talked to the old man for directions to Hateno and learned it was a two and a half-day flight from the stable, and a three-day ride on a horse.

So they all had started to gather supplies for their journey, fixing armor and gathering food. Cima had even stored some of the fruit from the morning for them to have. They were all currently waiting on Four to finish up repairs to their weapons.

“What's all this?” Warriors asked, picking up one of the many leather strips coming out of the pile. 

“Braces,” Kampo said simply, grunting as he tried to untangle all of the knotted areas. “We have them on stand by for travelers who need replacements.”

“We thought it would be a good apology from yesterday, ” Cima said, bumping her wing onto Kampos’s shoulder. 

In one swift movement, the stable girl picked up one of the smaller braces and began to walk over to Wind. “If you fellas want, I could show you how to apply them”

She kneeled behind the small hero and waited for him to nod before gently lifting his right-wing, sliding a leather hoop over the wing, and moving down until it touched his shoulder blades, just where the wing met his back.

“It works a lot like a backpack or a jacket. Slide it down until it reaches the base of your wing and tighten it until it's the size you need, ” she instructed, pulling a strap like a belt. “Keep in mind, you can do this by yourself, but it's much easier to do with a partner.”

Wind nodded his head slightly, his white-gray wings fluffing up at the unfamiliar feeling of leather sliding along his feathers.

“Now you place this metal loop around your second joint here, the one like a mountain, not a valley, then you take your first five primaries and stick them into these holes, see?” she gently slid Wind's biggest feather into a small leather loop. “Make it so that they are settled just at the base of the feather, where it is the most sturdy. Anywhere else and you will risk damaging the feather, you get it?” 

She stepped back from Wind's wings, her black-blue feathers puffing up in pride at the sight of her work. 

Wind slowly lifted his wing, getting used to the feeling of leather pushing and pulling across his plumage. Small silver buckles were shining on his primaries where the rings wrapped around the feathers, just in case they needed tightening. The other part of the brace hung limply on his back, waiting to be attached. 

Cima looked up from Wind’s back to see that they had tried to follow along with her instructions but had failed terribly at it. Twilight kept trying to put the buckle on the wrong joint, so it kept falling off.

Warriors had put his on correctly, but he did not tighten it enough, so he looked like a child wearing an oversized shirt. Time had done the opposite, braces so tight that it forced him into a strange sort of hunched position. 

Sky had missed a few loops on his brace, and they kept swinging out of his reach. Hyrule had somehow managed to pull both his wings into only one side of the brace. 

Legend was too busy laughing his ass off to even think about putting his braces on.

“Ah,” she said, her eyebrow twitching in agitation, “looks like we have our work cut out for us…”

After many minutes of rearranging wings, tightening buckles, giving frustrated wing smacks, and Four coming over and laughing almost as much as Legend, the group was ready to take flight. 

“Fly toward the split mountain,” Koda said -the old man who forever stood at the front of the stable, said smiling up at Time. “The roads leading to Hateno are covered in thick trees, so it's hard to spot them from the air.” 

Time shook the man's hand. “I deeply apologize for any distress me and my brothers might have caused you and your workers.” 

Koda smiled, his feathers a deep storm gray that came with his age. “ No need for apologies my friend. Now off you go; your friends look like they are itching to take their leave.”

At that moment a tiny shadow loomed over the two men. Four was hovering above them, his small wings nothing but multi-colored blur’s that kept him afloat. He was lucky the stable had braces that could handle the speed of a hummingbird. 

“We ready old man? Legend’s having a hard time containing Wind.”

Time chuckled and nodded his head at the man, before running full speed down the stable path, kicking up off the ground full force into the air and snapping out his wings, flapping hard to reach his brothers above.

“I wonder what the new guy is going to be like!” Wind chirped, circling Warriors as they waited for Time to join them. “Hopefully he's not like that stable guy.”

“Obviously he's gonna be like Time, they are in the same age range and all,” Legend smirked, clearly proud of the burn he just gave to their unofficial leader. “Yay! Another huge ass worrywart to scream at us when we step off a path!” he laughed.

But that laugh turned into a startled yelp as a large hand closed around his ankle, halting him from his circling and forcing him to flap hard to stay air born.

“A hundred-year-old worrywart you say?” Time smirked evilly.

“Oh, uuuh hey old-ACK!” Legend screeched as time yanked down on his ankle, making him fall about six feet before regaining his altitude. 

“Hopefully with that age comes a little maturity” Time grumbled, watching as Legend flew back up to the group. 

As they all soared away from the lakeside stable, Wind slowly glided up to Sky, flapping up so he was hovering just above the older hero whose wingspan made Wind's wings look like those of a small child’s. “What do you think he’s gonna be like Sky?”

The hero did not answer, his wings still as he glided forward as if the only thing keeping him afloat was the winds themselves.

“Sky?” the sailor asked. When he still got no answer, Wind flapped once and barrel rolled over Sky’s wings, snapping them out once he was under the hero's shadow.

Wind looked up at Sky's face, taking note of his relaxed face with a sigh. “Time! Sky's asleep again!”    
  


“Again!?” Wars yelled, a hint of annoyance leaking into his tone.

Wind looked up at Sky once more, beating his wings to keep up with the olders faster speed. Sky's eyes were closed peacefully. His mouth was hanging open slightly as a small rivulet of drool flowed out of its corner. Soft snores echoed from deep in his chest.

Yep, definitely asleep.

“I envy his ability to do that,” Legend snapped, moving his position slightly as Four zipped by him in a blur of feathers, taking a flying stance above Sky. 

Wind angled himself so he drifted over to Sky's left-wing. It had become a sort of a routine that the two smallest heroes would guide Sky whenever he was conked out while airborne. He had no need to flap because of the locking mechanisms in his wings, so all Wind and Four needed to do was angle him away from cliffs or tall trees.

But Four never made it under Sky.

Four had tried to copy Wind’s barrel roll move from earlier in order to duck under Sky’s massive wing quickly. A sudden burst of wind had made him spin faster than intended, and he slammed into Hyrule with a shrill warning call, who in turn cuffed Twilight's wing with his own, causing them all to go down like dominos.

At the end of the chain, Time was pushed backward when Legend accidentally slammed into him, causing him to bump into Sky as he slept.

Sky woke up with a soft screech, his body instinctively going into a roll before his mind had time to fully wake up. Wind only had enough time to say “uh-oh” before being scooped up and thrown toward the ground, screeching loudly as he went spiraling.

“Someone grab him!” Time shrieked, but another gust of wind blew him towards Warriors. Luckily, the captain had some muscle memory of his own, and he angled his body as if he were going into a standing hover and flared his wings out, making him shoot backward before Time got the chance to barrel into him. 

“I got him!” Legend called, pulling in his wings for a steep dive.

“I thought these stupid things were supposed to stop this!” Four shouted, clinging to Hyrule's leg as he tried to get his wings back into their beat pattern.

“That old man said they are supposed to help! Not stop it all together!” Twilight shouted, grabbing onto Warriors’ arms before he flew too far backward, timing his movements so he did not nock into Warriors’ wings.

It was true, his wings did feel sturdier than normal, but there was no way that leather straps alone could stop winds this random or strong.

Time heard Legend's call from the ground. One medium screech, three short ones, and a long one at the end, repeated over and over.

Every Hylian had a call that came from the base of their soul. A sound that was unearthly, like a bird's cry but more...commanding. And louder, so much louder than a meer bird cry.

“Everyone! On me!” Time shouted, pulling his wings into a hard drive, a gust of wind threatening to push him off course. The soft cries and sounds of wings folding told him the others had followed his command.

Just as they were about to hit the tree line, the group simultaneously shot open their wings and safely glided to the forest floor, hitting the ground with a harsh skid. 

Legend and Wind were standing between a group of large trees, the former’s arm was wrapped around Wind's shoulder, black wings a total mess from the winds above. Wind's wings were limp on his back, twigs and leaves were knotted into his feathers and hair from his crash.

Sky and Hyrule immediately ran up to them. Hyrule to see if there were any injuries to heal, and Sky because he felt the need to start apologizing twenty times a minute.

“Relax Sky, they're only scratches, I’ve been hurt worse fishing,” Wind said with a small smile, lifting his wings a bit to let Hyrule and Legend pull all the twigs and leaves out of his small feathers.

“That man was not kidding when he said the winds were freaking crazy here,” Warriors glared up at the sky. Four was hovering above the treetops almost frantically, his head snapping left and right like he was looking for something.

“What's wrong smithy?” Warriors called. But he did not receive an answer from the frantic hero, who only seemed to speed up his flight. Warriors stubbornly kept calling up to him, but it was only when Twilight took it upon himself to throw a rock straight at Four, did he stop his crazed buzzing patterns. 

With a yelp of surprise and a hard glare, Four swooped down and hovered over all their heads, face pale and nervous chirps escaping his throat. “I can't find the mountain.”

Time's wings flared out and Twilight snapped his head back up to the hovering hero. “What do you mean you lost the mountain? How do you lose a mountain? It's a mountain!” 

A rude click came out of Four's mouth, “Don't blame me! That stupid wind current knocked us off course or something! The cliffs all look the same here. I can't tell where we were going.”

Warriors pinched the bridge of his nose. “This was supposed to be a two-day flight, how in Hylia's tits did we get lost not even thirty minutes into the damned trip!?”

“We could circle back to the stable,” Wind said, puffing up ruffled feathers. ”We can’t be that far away from it.”

“There is no way in hell that I’m fucking getting back in that accursed sky with all that bullshit storming about.”

“Language,” Time growled. “Legend has a point though, we should wait until things calm down up there before taking off. I also think it's unwise to go into these woods, we could get even more lost…”

Sky sighed in defeat before plopping onto the ground and scratching at the uncomfortable leather on his wings. “Could this get any worse?”

A scream sounded off in the forest.

“You just HAD to fucking say something-”

“Legend, I swear to Hylia if you don't-”

Another scream ripped through the trees, and Twilight only let out a loud “Come on!” before rushing off into the brush. The hero's spirit screamed at him to answer the call for help. He jumped over a fallen log, unsheathing his Ordonian sword. By the sounds of twigs snapping and heavy panting, he could tell that the others were not far behind.

As light began to shine through the thinning trees, the scream became not one, not two, but a chorus of many yells and shouts ripping through the ait, along with the unmistakable sound of pigs squealing and the occasional explosion.

Twilight burst out of the treeline and skidded to a stop at the edge of a cliff, a canyon forty or fifty feet below them.

A dirt road cut through the soft, green grass, splitting off into two directions. One led further up into the canyon, and the other led down to where the sight of the sea was unmistakable. Twilight saw the sight of twinkling fires in the distance luminating a village by the sea.

Another scream ripped through the air below the group. A large caravan of travelers was scurrying about, fifteen, maybe twenty Hylians tops. 

They were yelling and screaming, running away from, based off of what Kampo had told them, bokoblins on horseback. Twilight could see a resemblance from the ones from his time. The monsters bashed poorly made weapons at the few brave Hylians who fought back and laughed in glee as the scared ones ran from their sharp spears. 

A bright beam of light caught Twilight’s attention, bringing it to an area that even the bokoblins were trying to avoid.

A large and strange-looking beast stomped along the ground, like nothing the heroes had ever seen before; its hide looked similar to the material as the glowing black stone back at the tower. But instead of blazing blue, red veins were pulsing along its skin, like magma was in its blood. A large, glowing red eye flashed around, blinking red laser appearing where ever its gaze landed.

It could also be said to...look like a strange mix of a wedding cake and a squid. 

The machine’s head swerved to a pair of fleeing Hylians, the blinking red light finding its way to a couple of fleeing hylians. As it found its mark, a loud beeping noise sounded through the air.

A second later, a bright, blinding beam of light shot out of the eye toward the Hylians, one of which had enough brains to tackle her partner just as it shot past her wings, missing its mark. 

Where the beam landed, a burning inferno erupted.

It was chaos, but it got worse.

The machine was slowly making its way down the beaten dirt path, directly towards the village.

Oh,  _ fuck  _ no.

Twilight whipped around to face Time, who had been looking down at the destruction below with a grim look on his face, holding his Biggoron sword with a white-knuckled grip.

“What’s the plan, old man?” Twilight asked, wings flaring out and ready for flight.

Time stepped forward, giving the battlefield a good once over with his eye and nodded his head. “Me, Legend, Four, and Hyrule will handle the bokoblins. Twilight, Sky, Wind, and Warriors, you four take that big thing. If you see an opening, take it.”

Time glared as the beast shot another laser. “It looks like an easy opponent, but watch yourselves.”

Time stepped closer to the group. Waiting...waiting…

“NOW!” 

Four rocketed off the cliffside with a mighty screech, flying towards a pair of bokoblins at hurricane speeds. He sliced one across the back so deep its spinal cord was hanging out, and hopped onto the shoulders of the other, stabbing it through the top of its head and out of the chin with the Four Sword.

Time and Legend were not far behind. Legend’s tempered blade cut the legs off of a bokoblin like a knife through butter, before arching to run through its back.

Time flew over to a monster hunched over a bleeding traveler. They seemed to be wrestling for a sharp bone-like sword raised over the Hylian's head, and the bokoblin looked to be winning.

As quickly as he could, Time grabbed the monster by the elbow and swung him around and around, throwing him right off the wounded man and straight onto Hyrule's awaiting sword.

Bright, pure, and untainted red blood gushed from the wound. So these monsters were not infected.  _ Perfect _ . This should be an easy battle. 

Twilight let out a scream as he dove towards a bokoblin riding on horseback. It had been chasing around a group of terrified Hylians, thrusting its spear at their wings and legs to make them scatter like ants in the rain. 

The monster looked into the air as Twilight screamed, thick leather boots connected to dry flesh as Twilight dove feet first into the bokoblin’s face. It let out a high pitched squeal of pain as it tumbled off of the poor, chocolate-colored horse’s back. 

It then screeched again as a large hoof came rearing up and smashed into its pig nose, crushing the monster's skull.

Twilight twisted in the air and brought his hands onto the horse’s flank, folding his wings tight against his back, almost like he was hopping up from the ground onto her rear instead of the sky. It was an old trick Time had taught him back at Lon Lon. He grabbed a fist full of the mare's mane and steered her toward two more horse-backed monsters. “Guys, now!” 

Wind sped over, flying almost as fast as Four after one to many of Sky's energy (sugar?) potions. He spun around and around, so fast that he became a blur of blue streaking across the sky, fully intending to smash into the creature with his momentum. 

But the beast was too fast.

It snapped its head around like an owl, glowing blue eye fiercely flashing red. 

Swift as lighting, it thrust one of its metal legs into the air and slapped Wind straight out of the sky, turning the hero's war cry into a strained yelp of pain as he skidded across the ground, small wings flailing as he rolled to a stop. 

“Well, that didn't go as intended,” he growled, unsheathing his Phantom Sword.

Warriors touched down beside him, a look of worry set on his face like stone. 

“I’m fine,” Wind grunted, waving off Warriors’ concern, “the hunk of metal is faster than it looks.” 

“Or maybe, brute strength just instinct in your department, shorty.” 

Wind’s response was lost as Sky let out a surprised squawk. He had landed a few yards away from them, the Master Sword held out in front of him, its blade glowing a deadly blue.

Wait. 

Blue? 

“Guys!?” Sky shrieked, holding the blade out. “Somethings wrong with Fi!”

“What’s she saying!?” Warriors shouted, pulling Wind up by his arm, not noticing the small red dot slowly creeping towards him. 

“She still isn't speaking,” Sky said, worry thick in his tone. “It’s more like...feelings?”

Oh, it was definitely feelings Fi was sending him. Rage and hate, the likes of which he had not felt since his battle with Demise. But in between the pulses of disgust running up his arms, one thing rang clear. 

A warning.

“Warriors, get down!” 

Sky snapped his head away from his sword and looked toward his two companions. The beast stepped forward, as a red light blinked on Warrior’s chest. Wind lunged forward, wings flaring out to the sky. 

There was a blinding light and then a scream.

“Wind!" Warriors screeched. Wind had shoved him out of the beam’s path just before it had struck Warriors. Whether it hit him or missed, Sky did not know. All he saw was Wind spinning wildly in the air by the sheer force behind the blast, landing on the ground with a loud thump.

He did not move. 

He did not get up.

Seeing that its target was down for the count the Guardian slowly stepped towards its prey.

Sky was having none of it. 

He dashed forward, slicing across one of the beast's many legs. It did not cut through at the first strike like Sky had hoped. He had to duck and weave between the machine's appendages, striking at any weak points that made themselves known. 

He even, at one point, slid under the belly of the beast, scraping Fi across its hull as he skidded out to the other side, wings flaring out on instinct. 

The large metal beast growled and sparked, slowing down its pace but not stopping. Its sights turned from Wind to Sky.  _ Good _ .

Warriors took Sky's attacks as an opening, to strike the beast’s back.

He quickly stood from his defensive position above Wind and charged, jumping into the air and landing on the creature's back, its red glow burning his eyes. He pressed his toes into the raised yellow groves of its surface, flaring his wings out to keep his balance.

Warriors quickly raised his knight’s sword and started a flurry of attacks that didn’t even leave a dent on the stone. He grunted as one of the beast’s claws wrapped around his stomach before ripping him away from its body and into the air.

He only managed to get a few slashes at the arm restraining him in before the beast slammed him into the ground, dragging him through the dirt and flinging him up with so much force he was surprised that his neck was still in one piece. 

It repeated the process over and over, flinging him around like he was nothing more than a rag-doll. He could barely make out the world around him as it all started to swirl into a blur of colors as the beats slammed him into rock after rock.

Then, all at once, the cold grip of the monster’s claws on his stomach disappeared and he was left floating. Was he dead? A few blows to the head and the Hero of Warriors was hitting the bucket---heroes’ spirit his ass. 

A second later his body made hard contact with the ground, sending bolts of lightning shooting up his shoulders to his already throbbing head.

Okay, so he wasn't dead.

Sky had struck a well-aimed blow at the area Warriors attacked, effectively slicing through the already damaged part of the leg and cutting Warriors free. He didn't have time to check if the other was all right after the fall. Wars was at least out of immediate danger, but Wind was down and Twilight was still busy giving the small group cover.

Sky had to end this  _ now.  _

He rolled away from a blast, the ground exploding as he ran. His void black wings arched up as he jumped onto the monster just as Warriors had.

But no, he was not planning to just unleash random attacks onto its surface, oh no. 

He was going straight for the place that Fi aimed to strike, Right in the middle of its bloody eye. 

He ignored the red light level with his chest, ignored the ruff claws trying to pry him off, ignored the ticking noise getting faster and faster.

He raised his trusted sword high in the air and brought her down with a vengeance, stabbing its eye over and over, not stopping until every hint of light faded from its being. Only when Fi hummed in warning did he jump off, watching as the beast exploded into bright, blue light, little trinkets falling where the monstrosity one stood. 

But Sky didn't care, Wind’s cries cutting through the air were enough to make all his thoughts come to a screeching halt. 

The youngest hero was lying sideways on the ground, hands wrapped tightly around his ankle. Pained filled shrieks fell from his mouth like a stream.

Time quickly stabbed his sword into the ground without care, running through the purple smoke of disappearing monsters as he kneeled next to Wind, an instinctive cooing rubbing deep in his chest as his thick brown feathers puffed up in worry. 

Time’s eye widened as he gently pried Wind’s fingers away from his ankle, cursing Hylia for all she was worth under his breath. Wind’s ankle was glowing a bright purple. Magic, of course, it would be magic, why wouldn’t it be fucking magic.

“Hyrule! We need you over here!” 

The traveler's head snapped up at Time’s voice. He pushed himself up from a kneeling position above Warrior’s with a grim expression. Hyrule looked over at Twilight and Legend. “It’s only a concussion, thank Hylia. So just keep him awake until I'm finished with Wind, okay? Ask him questions or something!” 

Twilight looked down at the loopy captain, feathers fluffing up in uncertainty. “Um, what’s nine times seven?”

Legend hit Twilight's shoulder. “No idiot, it's gotta be something he knows.” He kneeled to Warrior’s level. “What was your last date’s cup-size?”

“Big,” he grunted.

“Alright, what were the colors of her eyes, Wars?” 

“The hell if I know, I never looked there.”

“Yeah he’ll be fine,” Legend said, ducking as Twilight's wing came down to cuff him over the head. 

Hyrule ignored them as he squatted by Wind’s foot, hissing at the angry purple glowing up from the wound. 

The hero tried to see what he could do, but he had used too much magic during the battle, and they had run out of potions in Sky’s Hyrule…   
  
He tried to feel for how bad the damage was, but even touching the skin around the glowing area caused Wind to screech, pain laced into the unearthly sound. Wind’s hands raced down to his ankle, instinctively trying to grab at it. A small but firm hand grabbed his wrists before they could make it to their destination. 

But neither Time nor Hyrule were the ones to stop him.

It was one of the travelers, long, green hair tied in a loose ponytail; fluffy brown feathers puffed up from adrenalin, like a barn owl. Her dark purple eyes were trained on Wind’s ankle, flickering up and down the wound. A large knife was strapped to her thigh.

“To think that a guardian could travel this far east,” she said hotly, turning her head to Time. “We need to hold him down, if he keeps trying to grab at it a malice infection could start to form.” 

She gently placed his wrists into Time’s hands and turned to Hyrule, taking note of the frazzled movements in his wings. “We can't treat him properly here. But I can lower the possibility of infection ‘till you can get him actual help.” She neatly folded her wings behind her back, trying to look calm. “Do you have any hearty potions or bandages on you?” 

Hyrule shook his head. 

The green-haired girl cursed and turned to two girls standing close behind her. One was a short blonde with wings similar to a finch, and the other was a tall redhead with crane like feathers. 

“Cami! Maya! I need a potion and an old blanket! Now!” the two nodded and ran over to a group of recovering civilians.

She puffed her feathers out a tad and looked back to Wind’s ankle. “My name is Ell, sorry for not introducing myself sooner.” 

“Time, and this is Hyrule,” Time cocked his head over to the other, eyes not leaving the girl’s face. “What are you doing?” 

“Repaying you for saving my caravan,” she said simply, unsheathing her knife. “We were on our way to Lurelin Village when those freaks attacked us,” she turned her gaze to Time “This is the least I could do; most people who see a guardian would rather get shot out of the sky than face one.” 

At that moment, Ell’s two friends came running back to the group, a large flask of red liquid in one hand and a tattered blanket in the other. 

“This was all we could find.” Ell snatched the items out of their hands with a quick thanks, throwing the blanket at Hyrule and telling him to start cutting it into strips with her knife. 

“When I say ‘go’ I will need you to hold your friend down. Thrashing will only increase the chance of infection and hurt him more,” she said, popping open the flask of red, sweet-smelling liquid and pressing it to Wind’s lips.

Time’s wings flared up at the mention of Wind thrashing, but whatever a malice infection was, it didn't sound like a very pleasant thing. He opted not to argue with the lady who was very likely saving Wind's life.

Four and Sky came over and kneeled to both of Wind’s wings, gently holding them close to their chests. Time moved both of Wind’s wrists into one large hand and placed his free one onto the boy's chest, keeping him still. 

Ell let the sailor drain half of the bottle before moving down to his ankle, holding the potion in the air. “And...now!”

She swiftly started pouring the rest of the potion onto the glowing skin. As soon as it made contact the purple got brighter, and a loud hissing sound rang through the air. Steam rose from his ankle like water doused over a fire.

Wind screamed so loud that Time’s ears rang, but he stood his ground against the struggling sailor. He heard Four and Sky grunt as white-gray wings tried to aggressively flare open and flap against them.

Ell wasted no time, she dumped the rest of the potion onto Wind’s ankle and snatched the makeshift bandages before starting to tightly wrap them around the wound, hiding the bright purple glow from sight.

Thank Hylia that Wind had managed to knock himself unconscious, pain becoming too unbearable to stay awake any longer.

Ell wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and planted her knife back into its sheath. She stood up, dusting off her knees and stretching her wings from the tight position she had been keeping them in. “This is the least I could do, but again, I only solved the problem until you find actual medical help. Which won’t be out here, for either of them” she added, looking over at Warriors who was leaning heavily on Twilight, muttering something about not remembering a hair color. 

Time sighed, weighing his options. He did not know this woman, or if the village she was speaking of would be safe to go to, nor if it would only take them further from their destination.

But on the other hand, Wind and Warriors needed help, actual help, not just make-shift potions Hyrule cooked up over a campfire, and Time was sure no one in the group could help stop whatever a malice infection was. 

Left with no better option, Time accepted her offer with a single nod of his head. 

The oldest hero shifted to face away from Wind, wings spread in a way so they weren’t flared out but not completely folded in.

Sky helped move Wind onto Time’s back and watched as the boy unconsciously nuzzled into the downy feathers. Time hooked his arms under the other’s legs, folding his wings over Wind as if to shield him.

With a sigh, the now very large caravan continued making their way to the village Ell had promised. As they started their slow trek, they failed to notice a lone figure sitting atop the canyon wall, criss-cross on the ground with a scarred cheek resting on a loose gloved fist. A large rusted sword buried at the tip stood beside him.

The man looked down at the retreating heroes, a soft hum escaping his throat. “I wonder who the fuck these idiots are…” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey everyone!! Hope you all liked this chapter!! (I know it was long and I apologize. It was over 30 pages in my notebook) and would like to say sorry in advance for the random updates, I don’t plan when I post these at all. 
> 
> Now I would like to explain a couple of things about the story, why winged people ride horses, why the screech, and how they fly? (also a fresh-baked meme at the end if you're interested.) but if your uninterested, you can just skip this all.
> 
> The horses: so let me clear some things up before people start to ask why people who can fly would need horses. In my eyes the soldiers of Hyrule have sort of a flight code, one where only in combat or emergence circumstances (sending important letters to royals or warning villages of monster attacks) are knights/soldiers of Hyrule are allowed to fly, otherwise, they patrol and do other things on horseback like normal knights.
> 
> Unless your off duty, a knight being a civilian has permission to fly however they like as long as they obey the flight laws.
> 
> There is also the fact that in wilds Hyrule, the wind currents are, well, wild! If you are unprepared and unused to the sky you will be thrown into the cliffs in a heartbeat. 
> 
> So basically, sometimes it's safer to ride a horse than to fly.
> 
> How they fly: ever heard of maximum ride? Think of it like that. Hollow bones, different lungs the whole package.
> 
> Screeches: think of it as a calling card or a fingerprint, it shows people the base of your current emotions, though it’s mostly used as a war cry or a way to find someone then a greeting, say you lost a loved one, you screech to see if they can hear, and if they fanswer, it becomes a game of screaming Marko polo. It sounds a lot like something scraping accrosded a sword? 
> 
> Feel free to ask any questions you may have in the comments!! Ily all bye~
> 
> (p.s, sorry for all the switching between past and present tense in the first chapter. I did not realize I did that till someone pointed it out many days after I posted it. so...ye) 
> 
> Anyway. I’ll see you all in the next chapter, bye ya’ll!!!
> 
> Meme:   
> (time and the boys, JUST hopping out of a portal)   
> Wild, on the other side of Hyrule: I sense bull shit in the air.


	3. wounds and potions- and we are finally getting some where.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They make a plan, sort of.

Time sighed from his post in the doorway, looking out at the sea as young children swooped and dived at the waves, laughing as they chased each other in the breeze.

They had wasted an entire day at the village trying to recover from that machine’s- a guardian, Ell told them,- brutal attack. Time was starting to get twitchy, they had lost so much time already. Time that was supposed to be spent searching for this new hero, someone so well known, yet so few had seen.

Sky and Four had gotten to know some of the locals, an old man named Croyn and a fisherman called Armes. Apparently, Lurelin village was a big rest stop for travelers nowadays. Since the calamity fell -”so this link did defeat him!”- more and more Hylians had began to travel the world again.

“Many have tried looking for the knight,” the old man said “ but he simply vanished, only coming out to destroy a monster camp or help a traveling caravan defeat some goblins. No one finds him unless he wants to be found.” 

Time huffed, flexing his wings and letting them puff out. If these hero’s people could not seek him out, what were the chances of eight outsiders?

He shook his head, his feathers fluffing up to the point of no return. He couldn’t think like that. It had taken a month to track down Hyrule in the beginning, and don’t get him started on Wind. As soon as time had finished explaining the situation, the little shit went soring out into the ocean, only to be found a week later. Chilling on Zelda’s boat.

He tried to forget his meeting with Twilight.

Once again, Time sighed and flapped his wings, trying to get them to lay down by force. His eye drifted across the sleepy village. Twilight was off helping the fishermen with his haul, Four was zipping through the air, with some children. Either they were trying to teach him something or playing a pretty unfair game of tag.

Sky was talking to a short little lady, a large woven basket in her hands. his void black wings twitching throughout their conversation. The same feeling he felt at the stable seemed to wash over him- calm, quiet, and peaceful.

“Hyrule for the last fucking time im fine!”

“Language” Time called over his shoulder. His eye shifted from the peaceful scenery and into the hut behind him. It was quite simple looking, if not a bit old fashioned. completely round and only housing one room. 

a single thick piller held up the straw roof. There wasn’t much furniture, just some Closed chests were pushed up against the walls, along with a few book covered desks.

Wind sat straight up in a bed, squirming away from Hyrule who was trying to change the sailor’s bandages.

“Time” Wind groaned, trying to push Hyrule’s hands away. “Tell him that i’m ok! It’s nothing to make a fuss about.”

“If you don’t sit still I will have Legend punt you across this room”   
  
“I will gladly accept this invitation,” said Legend. He was sitting next to Warriors’ bed, the unconscious hero’s wing draped over his lap like a heavy blanket. His eyes never leaving the feathers he was preening, plucking at the split and damaged ones as he cursed at Warriors for being an idiot once again.

Warriors of course had no idea what was going on and just sighed in content, draping his free wing over himself like a quilt.

“Ruly I’m fine! It’s literally nothing but a flesh wound” 

“Wind, you still might get an infection, so shut your trap and let me wrap this.”

“Thankfully I think we are in the clear for that,” someone said. Time looked back in front of him, a small lady was standing on the porch, a sleeveless dress exposing her sun-kissed shoulders and her long dark hair was pulled into a messy braid. Time saw Sky standing behind her, giving him a small smile.

But for once, Time ignored him. Because as he moved out of the doorway to let her through, his eye caught onto her back. Totally bare and empty. Not a feather in sight. It set him back, every Hylian was born with wings, no exceptions. So why did she not have any?

The lady simply smiled at Times’s confusion, softly brushing against his wings with a quiet apology, and knelt down next to Hyrule, looking over the injured sailor. 

“Hello there, I’m Kiaha, we met before. Remember?” 

Winds eyebrows pinched together and his plumage ruffled uncomfortably “yeah, you’re the lady who shoved that nasty liquid down my gullet when we arrived, right?” 

Kiaha nodded her head. “Hearty potions aren’t really known for their taste, but they get the job done.” She pulled a bottle of murky red liquid from her bag, and held it up to the light. It looked like the same thing Ell had given him when he was shot.

“Sadly, we don’t have any high-quality ones at the moment, Lynal horns and Hinox guts are hard to come by, so you will have to stick to Moblin parts.”

Kiaha knelt down to her bag, so she missed the way Wind’s face morphed into pure disgust, his wings flaring out so hard they smacked Hyrule in the face.

“Did you apply the salve as I told you?” She asked, pulling out different elixirs from her bag. 

“Yes, the swelling seems to have gone down,” he sent an annoyed click toward Wind as he spat out feathers. “Along with the glowing” 

Kiaha smiled brightly, a few happy chirps escaping her throat in excitement. “Excellent! That means it’s working.” she shoved a bunch of elixirs and jars into Hyrule’s arms. “Make sure he drinks one of these at every meal for about a week. There should be enough there to last you that long, but if you run out get to a village shop as soon as possible.”

She reached over and tapped one of the glass jars filled with cloudy slime. “Apply the salve once a day until it starts to scar over. If it works correctly, it will paralyze the particles and kill off any new ones being created.”

Hyrule set the items on the ground, his feathers fluffing up as he counted all the containers. “Thank you, ma’am,”

Kiaha smiled at him. “No need to thank me for doing my job. If you stick to the routine, your friend should be able to avoid turning into a pile of sludge”

Sky let out a few soft clicks as Time’s eye snapped from her back to her eyes, trying to see if that was some sort of joke. But the sad smile branded on her face held anything but humor.

Hyrule’s feathers continued to fluff up at her words, a worried look appearing in his eyes. “Sludge?”

The woman gently pulled Winds’s ankle closer to her, inspecting the bandages. “Yes. Although it’s rare to be struck by a guardian and survive, the infections are not something to be taken lightly.” 

She smoothed her finger over a piece of tape, her eyes turning distant. “The beam of a guardian leaves behind small traces of malice particles. Not enough to harm you immediately, but if left untreated, they will multiply and devour their host until nothing is left but a puddle of toxic purple slime…”

Wind looked at his ankle, his eyes widening and feathers bristling painfully. “You sure know a lot about this, don’t you?”

Kiaha’s gaze seemed to grow even farther away at the words, a sad clicking leaving her throat as she twisted a small gold band on her finger. “Very.”

Legend looked up as a heavy atmosphere settled over them, his hands absentmindedly continued in their preening of Warriors’ feathers as his eyes swept across the room.

A flicker of light caught his eye, and never one to ignore something shiny, he spoke up. “Say, miss, may I ask what type of necklace that is?”

Kiaha snapped out of her thoughts and looked toward Legend, then down to her chest, where a simple jew hung on a leather cord, it’s color a strangely familiar, but haunting purple. 

She gently pinched the stone in her fingers and held it up to the light, and Legend had to fight from throwing Warrior’s wing off him to get a closer look. “Ah, sharp eyes you got there. Surely a collector like yourself knows what this is.” she looked at the expanse of rings circling his fingers and the strings of necklaces peeking out of his tunic.

Legends eyes were locked onto the necklace. “It’s a concealing stone, right? I haven’t seen one in a while.”

Kiaha’s smile grew as she tucked the gem back into her dress. “Correct, one point to the raven”

“Of course,” Time mumbled. Why hadn’t he thought of that before? Concealing stones weren’t exactly uncommon in his time. They were mainly used for religious purposes, like showing your wings to only your family. Or self-conscience teens trying to hide their molts. His own Zelda wore one for large galas and ceremonies. 

“Sorry if I freaked you out a little” Kiaha apologized, glancing up at Time as she stuffed her equipment back into her basket. 

“Not at all,” Time said softly. “When do you think he will be able to move?”

Kiaha looked back to Wind and then to his ankle, calculating. “Well, he was right about it being a flesh wound, if it has been a full-blown blast he would be in bed for weeks. But since it’ss barely a graze -more of a burn honestly- I can safely say he will be up and walking in the next few hours” She stood and picked up her basket from the ground. “Now that doesn’t mean he should do anything crazy, like jumping off cliffs, until it starts to scar over, but it should be ok to at least kick off the ground.”

“Anyway!” She spun around, striding toward a Warriors sleeping form. “That green-haired lady outside said that our little village wasn’t your intended destination. This true?” 

“You could say that” Sky finally spoke. “We were trying to make our way to hateno, but we sort of got turned around”

Kiaha let out a low whistle as she kelt by Warrior’s, placing a palm onto his head. “I would say” 

Hyrule winced. “How far did we overshoot?”

“Distance-wise? Not far, but you needed to fly north over the mountains, rather than following the valley.”

She grabbed a cloth and started to dab at Warrior’s brow. “It will take you about a week to reach that side of Hyrule if you travel by road.”

Legend tossed his head back and groaned, his wings sagging to the floor. “That’s three times as long as when we started.”

“We can handle it,” Time said, but even to himself he sounded a little annoyed.

“Deal? Time we are supposed to be looking for- uh, him! We have no idea where he is in the first place, and by the time we get there all the leads will be cold.”

Kiaha looked up from Warrior’s face. “You’re looking for someone?” 

Legend looked at Time, then locked gazes with the three others in the room. They shouldn’t talk about their true intentions with civilians in the same room. Hylians always reacted differently when their hero was involved, for the better or worst.

And they really didn’t want to take the chance of the healer disliking them when she was taking care of Warriors.

“Yeah,” Wind piped up, shifting his wings to a more comfortable position as he leaned against the wall. “Our cousin, he went missing a while back. So we have been trying to track him down.”

“But we may as well be trying to trap a breeze.” Legend huffed, it has only been a couple of days and he was already agitated, not a good sign.

Kiaha looked between the annoyed men. Mentally arguing with herself. Should she say it? She didn’t know if they could handle that route, it held some pretty intense monsters. they had injured comrades as well, it could seriously hinder them.

They looked capable, at first glance they looked armed to the teeth in gear, with more metal items than she had ever seen, definitely better than the average adventurer…And they did take on a fully functioning guardian.

The healer sighed, picking at the hem of her dress. “Well, there is another way…”

____________________________(jello, im a brake line)_______________________________

“Northeast?” Four questioned. “Why would we go that way?” 

It was about half an hour after Kiaha checked in on Wind and Warriors. Time took it upon himself to call a team meeting. The seven of them -warriors was still passed out- were seated around a campfire, fresh fish roasting on throwing spears in front of them.

Hyrule had tried to keep Wind in the hut, but the sailor kept fighting to the point of somehow climbing up into the ceiling support beams and screaming until they met his demands.

So there he was. Seated on the sand and breathing in the sea air with a soft sigh. It was maddening sitting inside when the waters were  _ right there,  _ just out of his reach.

Currently, he was leaning against Legend, his right wing flushed against Legend’s and his other lying limp on the ground. His ankle safely propped on Hyrule’s lap, much to the sailor’s chargen.

“The healer lady said that there was a shortcut to Hateno if we cut across that cliff over there,” 

Legend said, pointing at a large overhanging piece of land clashing with the sea.

“She said there wasn’t an actual path there, but apparently it would only take us a day to reach the village, where it would take us weeks if we went by road”

“But there are some problems,” Hyrule spoke up. “Kiaha was hesitant to tell us about the path”

“What? Why?” Twilight looked up from the fish. “It’s a short cut, why try to hide it?”

Time straightened out his back and sighed, his wings spreading out slightly from their tense position. “ she said the area was filled with monster camps, and things called a Hinox and Talus?” Time watched Legend square his shoulders in his “ _ I know what that is and I don’t like it _ ” way, and Four gave his own reaction of distaste, sticking out his tongue like he ate a bad piece of candy.

Wind scoffed at the name, he had encountered some of those beasts during his adventures, they were not fun.

“You telling me those things are here?” Four grunted, his shiny feathers ruffling smoothly.

“What’s a Hinox?” asked Twilight.

“Ugly is what they are.” Legend crossed his arms, glaring at the flames. “Huge monsters, big, lazy and slow, but can crush a Moblin like an ant.”

“Smelly as well,” Four added. “You could easily mistake it for a large hill if not for its snoring, or that bloody eye.”

“Eye?” sky asked. “It only has one?”

Four nodded. “Yeah, a lot like-”

“If you compare me with a stinking troll I will shove this fish down your tunic and shove you in front of a pack of wolves” 

“Lovely weather we have out here.” Four swiftly looked up to the sky, his wings twitching under Time’s glare.

Sky let out a giggle and lightly nudged Four with his wing, which sent the small hero face-first into the sand.

“And what about this Talus? Anyone know what that is?” Sky giggled again, ignoring Fours glare of rage.

A soft course of “no” ringed throughout the group and Sky was surprised as the all-knowing Legend shook his head, shrugging like he had no clue.

Time rolled his shoulders and looked up to the sky. “Well, if we are lucky, we won’t run into one when we take off.”

“Old man, our luck is absolute shit and you know it.”

“Watch your tongue Legend,” Time growled. “Kiaha said that Hinox’s sleep almost constantly, and Talus’ only awaken when they feel vibrations in their territory, so if we stay high and quiet, we should be able to get past just fine.”

“So we just have to be silent? Great! Let’s just gag Legend and we are set!”   
  


“HEY!”

“You’re all forgetting something” Wind spoke up, cutting through the chatter. “You said that this route was by the sea, right?”

“That’s correct,” Time said.

Wind let out a heavy sight and leaned further into Legend. “Well, that in itself is a problem. The updrafts and air currents by the sea are crazy as is, let alone in this Hyrule. You guys aren’t built for winds like that.”

He slowly lifted up his left-wing, showing off his shiny gray feathers. “Unlike mine, your wings are made for more smother currents. Sure, you can brave storms better than me. But when it comes to the harsh push and pull of beach drafts? It’s risky.” He set his wing down, brushing his feathers against Hyrule’s.

Twilight cast a glance to the waves. “Sailor’s got a point, I remember being tossed into the water in his time, I couldn’t fly for hours…”

“That won’t be a problem, or, well it will be less of a problem” Four crossed his arms and tilted his chin up, looking smug.

Legend shoved him into the sand with his wing. “Care to explain?”    
  


Once Four was done shoving black feathers out of his face and glaring at Legend. “The village kids taught me some stuff, showed me some tricks if you will.” 

“Obviously that’s because they thought you were one of them”

“For the love of Hylia, Legend shut up” Four snapped, ignoring Twilight’s annoyed growl. “They showed me some moves to help “work with the sky” or whatever. They told me that it’s in the primaries, they can somehow feel when the wind is about to push you around.”He sighed, flicking out his wings again. “After that, they just said “don’t fly in a straight line” and “let it push you around, if you fight it, it will fight back.” Whatever that means.”

Sky threw a stick in the fire. “It sounds like it will be hard to fly in formation.”

“It  _ sounds _ stupid and unorthodox,” Legend spit out. “Let the wind push us? That’s just pure idiocy.”

Four sighed. “That’s what I said, but they told me “pure routine flight hasn’t been practiced since the ancient times””

Hyrule made a strange mix between an annoying click and an uneasy warble. “More questions, yay!”

With a large grunt, Time hopped up onto his feet and stretched his wings to the sky, his arms going up with them. “Yes. Questions that will hopefully be answered when we get to Hateno.”

Twilight nodded. “We should leave as soon as warriors wake up, the faster we find this new guy, the better.” 

At that moment, a large crash sounded somewhere in the village, followed by a started squawk and a few yelps.

Time grinned and turned to his flock. “Pack your things, boys.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok! chapter done~ I know this is WAY shorter than my other chapters, but I literally had to chop up my first plan or it would have prob ended up fifty pages long since when I chopped it up it all fit into three different chapters...  
> chapter four is currently in the works! the next chapter will be more action backed (I think)  
> feel free to ask any questions you may have in the comments, bye loves!


	4. soldiers and wrenches- and how old do you think I am?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chain makes it to hateno, and meet's a strange, but welcome suprise.

**_Soldiers and wrenches, and how old do you think I am?_ **

  
  


  
“Are you sure we’re going the right way?” Four asked for the seventh time. He was filled with nervous energy and had to control himself so he didn’t fly laps around the group.

“Kiaha said to follow the shore,” Time sighed. He looked straight ahead, where the land met the endless sea.

“ _Go east until you see a shrine atop a cliff,”_ she had said. _“When the jagged cliffs of Mount Lanayru come into sight, head north and fly to a building with a small tower. The village lies just beyond that, resting between the mountains.”_

Someone let out a loud shout below him. With a quick glance down, he saw Wind gliding across the water, beating his wings with strength and grace that Time had never seen in someone so young. 

“He seems to be doing better,” Twilight chuckled from above, twitching his primaries to drift closer.

Wind was correct. The currents didn’t let them have _any_ control in what direction they flew, let alone in the tight formations they were so used to being in. It spread them all across the sky. They had all tried to go with the wind so another fiasco didn’t happen, but some had to fight to stay in at least a semi-close range.

“Warriors!” Time yelled over his shoulder. “How are you holding up?”

“What year is it again?”

“He’ll be fine!” Hyrule called back with a laugh. “How far are we anyway? We passed the cliff a half-hour ago.”

Time looked over to his side, the wind blowing wild locks of hair into his face. The looming peaks of Mount Lanayru were steadily getting closer and closer. They had all been flying most of the day, seeing nothing but green hills and blue waves for miles. 

“We should be close. Kaiha said it wouldn’t take more than a few hours to reach.” He looked down at Legend gliding steadily below him. “We should split up and cover more ground. Call if you spot anything.” 

Twilight nodded, tucking his wings in tight as he dropped like a stone. He made himself spin around and around to gain speed before snapping them out again just before he hit the ground, speeding off to the east.

“Show off!” Legend called out, tucking in his own feathers into a quick spin as he dove after him.

“Hyrule, Warriors, you two go in the opposite direction,” Time called, looking down to the others below him. “Sky and Wind, you're with me!” 

“Roger!” Sky called, sending some loud chirps down to Wind before flapping up to meet the older hero. 

“Naw! I’m okay, you guys go without me! I’ll stay here-”

“Wind!”  
  


“Coming!”

Time rolled his eye, angling his wings to turn toward the mountain.

It was strange to him, how _deathly_ silent this land was. 

Time was used to seeing people flood the sky, flying in flocks to one place or another. Sure, it wasn’t like he saw people throughout his entire adventure. There were moments where it was just him and the air. Like he was the only one allowed to be that high, as the king of the clouds. 

But occasionally he would see a person on the ground or a couple darting up from the trees.

Here, however? It was completely silent. It felt like the very land itself was holding its breath. Waiting for something Time could not yet see. It made his feathers itch like no tomorrow.

A sudden gust of wind hit the underside of his wings, and he angled them to move with it, climbing up and up and up, until the green of the grass became a sunlit blob and the sea seemed to still. The air became thin, yet somehow turning more rough and aggressive. 

But none of it mattered, for this was his domain. 

He was higher than any of his comrades could follow, but his breath came easy, his wings seemingly moving on their own. If he closed his eye, he could imagine he was back at Lon Lon. Stretching his wings in an early morning flight, the farm silent as the animals slept through the sunrise, Malon coming out to call him back inside...

But he knew it wasn’t real. So with a sigh he opened his lonely eye, returning himself to reality. In his heart, he could feel the shift in time. This land was not his own, it was foreign and vast and quiet. Nothing like his own home.

No amount of daydreaming would change it.

So with a drawn-out huff, he continued in his search. And that’s when he spotted it, atop a sea cliff. a small column of smoke rose into the sky, too thin to be a wildfire. Could it be a chimney? 

Time sucked in a large breath before letting out a screech, signaling everyone to regroup. He angled himself downward, starting his descent back to where his group would join him.

To Time’s utter amazement, as they flew closer to the cliffs, the house Kiaha described came into view. A small tower rested on the roof. 

“It looks like the place,” Hyrule said, “but what’s that thing on the roof?”

Time looked up ahead. True, there were strange things on top of the small lab. There were Guardian parts tied up like wind chimes and a large cylinder that looked a lot like Wind’s spy-glass. Except that it was ten times the size of his handheld tool. 

“We should circle around, find an entrance to the village.” Twilight said, brushing his primaries against Time as he fought to keep up with the elder’s pace. “We don't want to scare anyone by landing right on their porch.”

Time nodded, letting out a shrill whistle—a formation command that everyone had memorized at this point. He then veered sharply to the right along the hills, following its edge to the trees.

It would be so easy to just fly straight into the village. Land right into its center and start asking questions. But this land was tense and on edge, like a bow ready to snap. They had to play their cards right if they wanted anyone to listen to them.

Soon, they all were landing on a large beaten path. The ground was sloped, so getting their footing was a struggle. Wind tripped on his own boots and crashed into Warriors on his way down, eliciting a swear.

Before them stood a stone and wood arch. It wasn’t anything fancy, two boulders made up the base and a plank of wood stretched across them, along with an old sign hanging between them reading “Hateno Village” in choppy text.

Legend threw back his head. “Fucking finally, I thought we were never going to make ,” he groaned, relief palpable in his words.

“It’s only been four days, you wuss.” Sky chuckled lightly.

“Oh shut up.” Legend rolled his eyes, wings drooping slightly as he crossed his arms. “Can we just get this over with?”

Time grunted, walking ahead of the group and up to the entrance.  
There was a man standing there, wings uptight and twitching with tension.

‘ _Please let us pass,’_ Time thought with a baited breath. _‘Don’t stop us, just look and be on your way_ — _”_

“Halt!”

‘ _Goddesses damn it.’_

Time sighed heavily as he raised a fist to his group, signaling them to stop in their tracks.

The hero got a closer look at the guard. He was possibly in his mid-twenties. A straw hat and a thin tunic spoke nothing of a warrior, but his pitchfork— again with the pitchforks, really?— seemed sharpened enough to cause some damage. His black secondaries puffed up in contrast to his stiff primaries. 

“Who goes there?” he gruffed out, brandishing his weapon in a white knuckle grip.

“We—”

“Link!?”

Time’s eyes snapped over the man's shoulder, and before he could even let out a startled squawk— which he would not admit to, ever— a blur of pink and blue shot past him and grabbed onto Warriors shoulders with a vice grip, shaking him back and forth roughly.

“Where in Hylia’s name have you been, you insufferable brat?! Karson and I have been worried sick! You aren’t allowed to go fistfight a giant demon pig blowing up half of Hyrule field and then freaking _disappear_ for a _fucking year_ without telling me you--”

“Fistfight a what!?” Wind said in awe, limping over to the newcomer.

The man’s face snapped down to Wind’s in surprise, obviously not noticing the small crowd around him. “Who—”

“Obviously there has been a mistake here,” Sky interrupted, quickly prying Warriors away before the stranger could cause any more brain damage. “This isn’t the Link you know.” 

“Of course he is!” the man snapped. “It’s the same hair and everything! And— well, it’s a bit shorter than I remember... and you're not wearing the blue— oh heavens—” The man gasped and scanned Warriors’ dazed face as if he were looking for something that wasn’t there.

“They are gone,” he whispered. “You really aren’t him.” 

Time grumbled a bit as he straightened himself out, shock disappearing as confusion rushed in.

He would be lying if he said the man looked like everyone else he had seen. 

His hair was gone, nothing but a thick pink rope tied around his head. His blue and yellow fur jacket clashed with his puffy pink pants and his hot pink wings stretched out in alarm.

“Goddesses, I’m so sorry!” he shouted, jumping back as his wings flapped in distress. “I am so, so, so sorry! I didn’t realize—”

“It’s fine,” Warriors mumbled, leaning heavily on Sky’s shoulder. “I already have a head injury, what’s one more?”

“Still—”

A scoff cut off Bolson’s apology. the guard was looking at him with a light sneer, tinged with frustration and displeasure. “Don’t tell me you’re still thinking about that _fool,_ Bolson.” 

The flamingo man whipped around so fast that Time was sure he would get whiplash.

“If criticizing people is what you call a day-job then it’s no wonder you can’t afford one of my homes,” Bolson replied flippantly. His frantic attitude disappeared in an instant as he turned to the guard. “Please don't tell me that a simple _boy_ is enough to ruffle your feathers.”

The man’s plumage puffed up in agitation before he smoothed out his expression. “Oh please, that’s no boy, he’s practically a traitor after that mess at the Fort.” 

“You can’t blame him for someone else’s failures,” Bolson replied smoothly. The only indication of his ire was the twitching of his wings. “And it is unwise to speak ill of the dead.” 

“We both know that’s not true,” the guard snarled. “He’s the reason-”

“ _Enough!”_ Bolson’s wings flared out wide, the pink of his feathers turning a deadly red as the sun shined through them. A cool look of disapproval appeared on his face. “He is not who he was. He is a child.” Bolson took a threatening step forward. “And you have no right to speak of such events as if you lived them yourself. Your own father wasn’t even born then!”

“But—”

“Excuse me.” Twilight stepped forward, trying to keep his wings from flaring as the two hylians' attention snapped onto him. It was painfully obvious who they were talking about, and as much as he wanted to cut into their argument and ask them about him, the air was so thick with tension he could practically see it.

They needed to separate these two before they started a full out brawl on the path. 

“I'm so sorry to interrupt, but we have some urgent business to attend to, and we need to get into the village…”

Bolson blinked at the dirty blonde, having completely forgotten that he and his friends were standing all around him.  
  


“Why of course! How rude of me,” he said. His angry scowl vanished in an instant, bright pink feathers puffing up smoothly.  
  


“Please! Follow me,” he called, making sure to shoulder check the soldier hard before ducking under the stone-arch of Hateno. 

“I’m so sorry you had to see that,” he mumbled once he was out of earshot, pinching his nose between his fingers. “Thadd has always been an insufferable prick.” 

“Oh, we know a thing or two about pricks.” Warriors smiled, moving to lean on Legend’s shoulder, but the younger hero quickly sidestepped him, and Warriors promptly fell face-first into the dirt.

Legend didn’t even bother looking at him as he stepped over the captain’s limp form and continued walking. 

Time scoffed as he stepped around the fallen hero, trying to match his pace with Bolson’s. 

“So, the person you and Thadd were speaking of, it was Link, the hero. Right?”

Bolson glanced at him, his feathers quivering from the lightest pink alula to the dark black of his primaries. “It was that obvious, huh?”

“I know how to connect the dots. Comes with the job.” Time shrugged. “You seemed pretty protective of him back there.” 

At that, Bolsons face shifted in a flurry of emotions. Sadness, rage, embarrassment, and settling on a strange defeated look. 

“No one should have to go through all that he did, and come home to people like that.” 

Time nodded, his eye staring straight ahead as they walked. Deep down he felt the same. The itch of his scars as his peers sneered and shunned him was a faded memory. No longer haunting him, but still bold enough to feel the pain. If it hadn’t been for Malon…

He shook his head, feathers ruffling up in unease. He was not going to allow himself to go down that path again, not now. He wasn’t alone with Twilight and Warriors, trying to keep his voice from rising as the others slept. It was fine when it was just the three of them. Sharing stories so different yet so similar to his own. 

But right now, he was in broad daylight, under the watchful eyes of his friends and strangers alike. 

So with a shaky breath, he listened to the group at his back. They were chatting amongst themselves while he tried to get some answers out of Bolson. 

Soft thumps and snickers could be heard at the back of the group. Legend and Warriors were engaged in yet another game of “thwack”, a silly game Wind had shown them a few days after he joined them. 

Time stole a glance at Bolson, and the words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them.

“You wouldn’t happen to be Link’s father, would you?”

Bolson came to a complete stop, his wings going slack, his eyes widening. Time was sure he had said something wrong. But before Time could string any thoughts together, Bolson burst out laughing. Doubling over, arms wrapped around his stomach as his wings flared out behind him. 

The entire group stopped in shock at the sudden outburst. His wild cackles had even attracted the attention of a few villagers as they passed.  
  


“Me? Link’s pa? Ha! Now that would be the day.” He wiped his eyes, a few giggles and chirps escaping his mouth. “Hon’ I don’t know how much you know about the kid, but he’s older than my own pa’. Calling him my son would be like saying an oak is an acorn.” 

Time let out a few unsteady clicks. “Ah. Yes, my companions and I have been told about that.” He cast his eye onto a fidgeting Hyrule. “But you kept calling him a child. So it slipped my mind.”

A large huff came out of Bolson as he glared at the sky. “Explaining his age situation can be quite tricky and honestly annoying.” Bolson crossed his arms, ignoring the staring villagers as he started to walk again.

“But you’re not here for that, are you?” he asked, peeking over his wings at the group.

“You guys look ready for a second war, you bounty hunters or something? That’s pretty uncommon but the inn has a board you can—”

“Actually.” Time cut him off, stopping in the middle of the path once more. “We _are_ here about that.” 

Bolson stopped in his tracks. “What?” 

“Link.” Hyrule stepped forward, feathers fluffing up in an innocent-looking way. “We have been looking for him. A friend of his said that this was the place is he visits the most—”

“I am afraid your information is out of date,” Bolson snapped. “You can wait around all you like. He’s not going to come back here. And no one in the village knows where he is.” 

Twilight’s wings bristled at the sheer amount of bitterness in his tone. “You said this was his home right? Maybe—”

“This _was_ his home,” Bolson bit out. “It’s been an entire year since that little shit has shown his face. It’s safe to say he’s not coming back.” 

Times wings flared out, a whole year? Bolson had said something to Warriors about that. It was probably why he was so excited to see the hero. Time would probably do the same if one of his boys disappeared for that long.

“You’re fucking kidding me!” Someone hissed. Legend was fuming, clawing at his pink hair as his feathers puffed up in a large black puffy mess. “You tell us that his own hometown hasn’t seen him? This is bullshit!” 

“Legend.” Sky hissed placing a hand on his shoulder. “Control yourself, it’s just one bad clue, we will find him eventually.”

“This wasn’t _just one_ clue, Sky, this was our only one!” He raked his fingers through his hair again. “This place is massive, it would take years just to find him!”

“I never said no one knew where he was.” Bolson said. “I said no one in the village knew where he was, there is a difference.” 

“Then who knows?'' Four stepped up. “We don't have time for games old man, just tell us!” 

Bolson looked down at Four, his gaze sharp and calculating. “What are you, six? Watch your tone.”

“What are you, 80? Watch your back. It might break.”

“Four, stand down.” Time sighed. “We aren't going to fight the man who might give us our answers.”

Bolson stared at Time for a few moments. And then said in a tight voice. “What do you want with him?”

Of course, an answer for an answer. It seemed to be a common thing in this Hyrule. 

Time mulled it over in his head, it wasn't like they kept their quest a secret. Just spreading some half truths and white lies to avoid and overflow of questions.

But they needed more information. And Bolson didn't seem like the type to lash out at something that seemed too crazy to believe. 

So with a deep sigh, he unfurled one of his wings and draped it over Bolson’s back, covering them both from the prying eyes of the villagers as he told the shortest explanation of their story as he could. 

Bolson took it all as if it were yesterday's newspaper.

“So, you're all from the past?” he asked, watching as Time retracted his wing.

“That's the gist of it. Yes,” Time answered.  
  


“I see, no wonder you all look like him… I suppose it’s not that unbelievable.”

“You're taking this a lot better than expected.” Legend said, crossing his arms and squinting at the pink feathered man.

“You mean better than Ravio?”

“Dear goddess, don't remind me. My ears are still ringing from that kick to the head.” Twilight groaned.

Bolson merely chuckled. “Oh, believe me when I say that,when someone has tamed a horse god and made it snow on death mountain, you start to believe everything and anything.”

“I’m sorry what—”

“So this means you will help us, right?” Wind asked, pushing past Warriors’ and Sky’s wings to get in front of the group. “You will tell us who knows where Link is?”

Bolson smiled down at him, a bit sad, but hopeful. “Yes, I suppose I ought to.” He straightened up, raising a wing to a hill they had passed on their way to the village, the one with the strange house.

“The woman you seek lives up there, she never comes down from her perch. But she was closer to Link than anyone in this region. Other than the Zora prince. There is a high chance that she can help you.”

Time looked up at the house. So high up that it seemed to scrape the clouds. Could an answer really be so close?

“Hell yeah!” Wind cheered, charging up the path. “Come on guys, what are we waiting for?! Let’s go!”

With an exasperated huff, Twilight reached out and grabbed the back of Wind’s tunic as he tried to race past. “Hold your horses squirt, you and Warriors are staying here.”

“What!?” Wind whipped around, glaring at the other hero. “Why in Hylia’s name would I do that? We are so close to our goal!”

“You need to heal up,” Twilight said simply. “The both of you, you have been limping since we left Lurelin, and Warriors has been trying to hide his winces for the past hour.”

“Hey, I'm perfectly functional!” Warriors yelped. 

“Since when?” Four peeked up at Warriors, narrowly dodging the wing aimed for his head. 

“We have been flying for hours.” Twilight sighed again. “We need you both at full strength if we want to keep going. Continuing on the way you are will only slow us down.”

“It's my ankle that's messed up, not my wing,” Wind pouted.

  
“Yes, and who knows how much we will be walking? We can't rely on the Sky for everything. You know that.” 

Wind crossed his arms, his face morphing into a mix of a pout and a sneer. “You going to say anything, old man?”

“I think that the pup has a point. Coming along might only bring more harm than good,” Time stated. Smirking as Wind glared at him harder.

“It’s nothing to worry about!” Bolson cheered. “You two can come stay with me and Karson, we will find some way to pass the time.”

The young hero looked up at Bolson with an expression of vague doubt, before turning to Time. “I hope you know that I strongly dislike this.” 

“Yes.” 

“And is anything I say going to change this decision?” 

“Nope,” Time said with a coy smile. “I’m sure you four will find something to do.”

“Wait, four?” Twilight quirked a brow. “Who else is staying?”

“You, obviously,” Time said. “You don’t really think I'm going to leave those two alone with each other, do you?”

“Oh come on, old man,” Twilight ground out, trying to fight against the wing nudging his back. “Is this karma for speaking first?”

“Possibly.” 

“Don't you folks worry ‘bout a thing!” Bolson shouted, flinging a wing around the startled Warriors. “I’m sure I can distract you boys long enough, Karson can play a mean game of go fish I’ll tell ya’ that.”

“Hylia help us,” Wind mumbled as Bolson dragged him down the path. 

“I will get you back for this,” Twilight growled at Time, grabbing Warriors by the wrists and jogging to catch up with the pink feathered man.  
  


“Duly noted,” Time chucked, turning back to what little remained of his group. 

“So, why don't we see if this lady is worth the trouble.”

_____________________jello! Its tis i! The brake line once again!__________________

  
  


Time sighed for the hundredth time as they approached the lab, the air turning frigid and cold as they trekked up the steep hill. 

The small building was certainly strange to say the least. From far away it seemed simply misshapen, but up close it looked like it was halfway between being demolished or being renovated. 

He couldn't fully tell from the angle he was at, but there was quite possibly a proper landing pad on the roof.

Though, after the stables incident, he wasn't nearly as confident using them as he had been before.

There was an odd furnace burning out front with a bright blue flame. The sight of it sent a shiver down his spine and his pinions standing on end. It felt old, somehow. Ancient. Like the kind of sacred power he felt whenever he walked into the Temple of Time back in his own Hyrule.

A sudden sound came from the entrance. The door was ripped open so fiercely that it was a surprise that the hinges stayed intact. A young man burst from the building’s shadowy insides and into the sunlight, narrowly dodging a large metal wrench as it flew past his head. 

"USELESS! UTTERLY USELESS! DON'T YOU DARE CALL YOURSELF A KNIGHT UNTIL YOU CAN DEFEAT SUBCLASS CHU-CHU, YOU IGNORANT EXCUSE FOR A HYLIAN!" a high pitched voice screeched from inside the house. Their rage ripped through the air like a hot knife through butter. 

Time watched as the young man bolted straight past him. Tears of pure fear streamed down his face as he ran toward the edge of the cliff.  
“Run for your life!” he screamed, snapping out his oily black wings and shooting into the sky. “She's fucking insane!”

Time watched as he flew away in shock, turning to his friends to try to see if they were just as confused as he was. “Well… this should be interesting.”

“I can already feel the excitement,” Legend mumbed sarcastically. 

Time ignored the snarky comment and quickly made his way to the open door, letting himself inside.

To say it was strange would be an understatement. There were sounds that he’d never truly heard before—whirring of gears and beeping of... things. 

Lights flickered and the smell of oil permeated the area like a summer’s rainfall. He nearly glanced over it, at first. The entire place was so incredibly strange that it honestly didn’t look out of place at first.

Maps scattered the walls and floor, and books seemed to lay in the strangest places. But when his mind finally registered what it had glanced over, he did a double take. Settling on some strange stone horse statue. 

It stood on two wheels and had a saddle for one. It was like someone decided to smash a horse and carriage together and recreate it for one person.

He honestly didn’t see how it could possibly stay upright, but it looked like Sheikah technology. Bright lights of blinding blue and deadly orange flashed across its hide like lava and ice, like pulsing veins. 

If there was one thing he’d learned about the Sheikah over the years, time and time again, it was to never underestimate them.

“The bloody imbecile couldn't even hold his sword right, he would have held it by the blade if someone wasn’t there to watch him,” someone huffed. 

Time moved to see where the voice was coming from, but was met with a large wall of books, completely covering their form. “Hey Symin, how close are you to finishing the beast? I need you to go back into town and find me a guy with at least 50% of a brain.”

“I’m almost done, just a few more wires need to be set. But it won't be completely finished till we recover the part,” a gruff voice said. Time almost had a heart attack 

when he heard it coming from the stone horse. Had the Sheikah found a way to bring objects to life? He wouldn't put it past them, but such a power was a bit terrifying. 

But his worries disappeared when a man stood up from his hiding place behind the statue.

He looked to be in his late forties. Gray hair wrapped up in a large traditional bun. He had plain dark brown glasses and a small goatee. 

His dark blue skin tight shirt was smudged with oil stains from tough work, his puffy jacket tied around his waist. His black and white speckled wings, obviously that of a harpy eagle, were smooth and neat right down to the last feather, not a single one out of place.

“And you didn't have to be so hard on him, even though his training wasn’t the best, he still tried—'' He cut himself off, eyes landing at the five strangers at the door. “Oh, hello there.”

“The hell are you on about?” said the squeaky voice. “Is another buffoon here to try and smuggle a reward from me?” 

A little girl popped up from behind the wall of books, pushing herself onto the table. She had to be no older than seven or eight years old. Her thick white hair was pulled into a bun, much like Symin’s.

She wore a school girl’s skirt and long black socks. Her peach colored coat was covered in patches and old ink stains. Fluffy sunset orange down covered her small wings. Her bright red eyes looked at them in surprise through rust colored glasses. 

“Hylia damn it, the Linky clones are back. Symin get the taser!”

“Yes, my lady,” Symin said, pulling out a small metal box.

“No no no!” Sky jumped in front of them all, hands out as if he were calming a savage animal. “No one is getting tased,” he said. “I don't really know what that means but it does not sound pleasant.” 

“Oh please,” the girl said. Her voice was bored yet sharp. “I designed you so that the smallest zap would turn you into toast. You won't feel a thing.” 

“You didn’t make us tiny, and we aren’t one of your stupid clones or whatever,” Legend snapped, glaring at the white haired man. “Now put that thing down before you lose a hand buddy.” 

“Is that a threat, pinky?”

“That's enough,” Time growled. “We didn't come here to bicker with a child and her father.” Time’s feathers ruffled at the strange scoff that came from the girl. 

“If you aren't clones, then why in the thirteen hells do you look like Linky, hm?” she spoke, motioning for Symin to lower his strange box. 

“He's sort of the reason we are here.” Sky spoke. “It's hard to explain, but my companions and I are heroes—”

“Heroes?!” The little girl gasped. Her eyes sparked with a strange delight.

“Purah don't—” Symin tried to say, but was ignored as Purah launched herself off the table, fluttering to a stop before practically running into Time. 

“I knew Linky wasn’t the only one left! Where are you from? Obviously you're not from Hyrule by all the metal you carry around. How did you get past the canyon? No one in 300 years has been able to cross it! This armor is like nothing I have ever seen, how—” 

“Madam Purah,” Symin signed, “I think our guests have more pressing matters to attend to, don't you?” 

“Ah! Of course. Linky is what you're after.” She gigged. “Not many people know that me and Linky are acquaintances, so how did you find out?”

Sky’s wings bristled at how suddenly the mood seemed to shift in the building. “Um, a man named Bolson. He's actually with some other friends of ours—”

  
  
  


“There are more of you?!” she gasped, looking ready to rocket off the table again. But was stopped short by a sharp chirp from Symin. “Right right. Off topic. Sorry.” She sighed, flapping her wings to boost herself back onto the table. “To answer your question, I indeed know how to find him.” 

“Oh thank Hylia.” Hyrule grinned. His wings flaring out so wide that he smacked Four square in the face. “See! Sky told you this wasn't a bust, Legend!”

Purah smiled wickedly at them, her gaze calculating. “ Yes. But there is a catch to my services.”

“Why the hell am I even surprised. Why am I always surprised!” Sky hissed, throwing his hands into the air with a loud trill.

“I'm not,” Legend clipped, casting a glance at an exasperated Sky and a rapidly deflating Hyrule. 

The young girl let out a quick trill. She hopped off the table once more and swiftly picked up a book off the floor. “I do believe you saw that lowlife running away with his wings in a twist, no?”

Time winced at the memory a wrench flying at full speed past the poor man’s head. “You could say that.” 

Purha huffed, snapping the book closed. “Well, like many before, I had tasked him with retrieving an item of great importance to me.”

She started pacing around the room, picking up sheets of paper and throwing them over her shoulder. “A few months ago, a group of moblins decided it was a good idea to storm the village. Luckily, the damage and injury was minimal, but they made off with some items, including my tool.” she growled. “Every person that I have sent down to their camp has failed to get it back.”

“And we care about this, why?” Legend huffed, then squawked as four kicked him in the shins.

“You _care,_ because without it, I can't tell you where Linky is. It's the only thing that can power the machine that can give me his location.” 

“Yeah. Ok, that's a pretty good reason to care.”

Time stepped forward. A dark, yet knowing look squared on his face. “You want us to retrieve it for you, am I correct?”

“You betcha!” She smiled. “Think about it, in the end we both get what we want. I get my part back, and you get your blonde boy. It's a win win!” 

Time’s plumage ruffled smoothly at her easy going tone. As if going into a battle was just a game for her. But it did sort of help that moblins -though strong beasts- were on the lower classes of monsters. With a group such as theirs. It could be simple…

Sky patiently waited for Time to give the ok before stepping forward. Putting in his brightest smile. “Where did you say that camp was again?”

The little scientist grinned chaotically at this, sharp and wicked. “Great! Let's get this done in a snap! Shall we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I hope you liked this chapter. I'm sorry if it's a bit lengthy, or if the ending seems rushed, but next chapter I can somewhat guarantee a fight!  
> Imma start a new thing here. I'm calling it DID YOU KNOW? It's where I put little bits of lore (cough headcanons) about the fic that won't fit or I don't know how to place in the storyline, the first one is!: 
> 
> DID YOU KNOW? in Sky’s Hyrule. Loftwings are thought of as teachers to young Hylians. At a Hylians birth, a lofting chooses a baby as its own and they teach the children how to fly, and catch them if they start to fall. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter, see you next time folks!!

**Author's Note:**

> yeet I hope this is good, i'll come back and edit it if I think of somthing better for some parts, hope you enjoyed!!!


End file.
